How the Heck did THIS Happen!
by kakashifangrl1012
Summary: Itachi and Kisame abduct Sakura to lure Naruto, but Sasuke comes too! How will the old team 7 handle the reunion? Although it may seem like it at first this is NOT KAKASHIXSAKURA! Pairings: sasusaku, naruhina, kakarin please R&R! Last chapter, 28 up!
1. A Hot Day

Naruto and Sakura were lying on the ground, exhausted. They had just finished a rigorous training exercise from Kakashi-sensei. Even the number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja didn't have that much energy left and that was saying something. It didn't help that it was eighty-five degrees and sunny either. Naruto peeled off his sweaty orange and black jacket.

"Why does it have to be so hot?!" he yelled at the sun as if that would change the temperature.

Sakura closed her eyes and smiled. Some things would never change.

"Good job today, you two," Kakashi said as he walked towards them. "Go home and get some rest now."

"Yay! Air conditioning!!" Naruto shouted. Sakura giggled and Kakashi smiled. "I bet Sasuke doesn't have air conditioning." He clamped a hand over his mouth. '_Oops. I said that out loud didn't I?'_ he thought.

Sakura stopped smiling and looked at her feet like she always did when Sasuke was mentioned. Naruto looked at Sakura sadly.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I'll see you later," he said apologetically.

"It's okay Naruto," she gave him a small smile. Naruto ran off. She stood there for a moment, forgetting that her sensei was still behind her.

'_I better have a talk with her,'_ Kakashi thought. _'This is getting bad.'_

He put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him questioningly.

"Meet me at the memorial stone in two hours," he said and without another word turned and dashed away presumably to his apartment.

'_I wonder what that was all about. None-the-less I'd better go and see what he wants.' _She thought. She started to head towards her house. When she got home she changed into some clean clothes and pondered what she would have for dinner.

"I think I'll have ramen. That sounds good," she stopped a minute and chuckled to herself. "I must be hanging around Naruto too much. I bet he's eating the exact same thing right now."

After eating her nutritious dinner, she started to head towards the memorial stone.

'_I wonder how long I'll have to wait for him to show up,' _she thought absent-mindedly.

Sakura almost gasped out loud. When she was about to come into the clearing where the memorial was she stopped. She wouldn't have to wait for Kakashi-sensei because he was already there. She had never ever known him to be early or even on time. He was crouched down next to the memorial stone. One hand was touching his left eye, the eye with the sharingan, the other was tracing a name engraved on the stone. His hitai-ate lie on the ground next to him. All she could see of the name was the word "Uchiha". She made a mental note of where it was and walked up to Kakashi.

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'_Why did you have to die?' _Kakashi thought as he traced the name of his friend. He didn't notice Sakura coming up behind him. He was too deep in thought to notice anything. She put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Um, sensei?" she said. "What did you want to see me about?" He snapped out of his spaced-out state and put on his hitai-ate before standing up and facing her.

"Hi Sakura," he said cheerfully. "Come sit down." He sat down and motioned for her to sit down next to him. She did as she was told. They sat there for a minute each lost in their own thoughts.

"So…" Sakura finally broke the silence. "What's up?" She thought he was going to tell her about a mission they were going on or something like that. She definitely didn't expect what he had to say. He sighed.

"I didn't want to have to tell you this, Sakura, but I guess I have no choice." His voice sounded sad.

"W-What," she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"You have to let him go," he said simply.

"What-What do you mean?" she replied quietly.

"Sakura, you know what I mean. Sasuke." He paused for a minute. Her eyes widened. He had never said anything like this to her before. "He's clouding your judgment. You always look down at your feet when he's mentioned. You know that he probably will never come back, and if he does, what then? I'm sure you could find someone else to care for you. You can't hold out for him forever." He looked at her with a truly concerned look, at least from what she could see of his face that was what it looked like. "Sasuke chose his own path. You should too." He stopped and took a breath. There was another awkward silence.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you have any idea what you just asked me to do?" He was about to answer, but she continued. "I can't just let him go and act like he was never there." Her voice was rising now. "How can you ask me to do that?!"

"Sakura, calm down," Kakashi said, but she kept going.

"He will come back! I won't let him go! How can you ask me to do that?!" Tears leaked from her eyes despite her efforts to hold them back.

"Sakura!" She stopped yelling and looked at him. "I can ask you to do that because I've tried to do what you're going through already. I know exactly what I'm asking you to do," he told her sternly. His eyes turned towards the ground just like she did when she was thinking about Sasuke. "I tried already." He repeated. She stared at him for what felt like an eternity with thoughts whirling in her mind, tears still flowing from her eyes.

"I'm sorry I-," she started to apologize, but he cut her off.

"Don't be sorry," he said as he got to his feet and prepared to leave. "Just think about what I said. Goodnight." He was back to his normal self. He walked away leaving her staring after him.

It occurred to her then that she didn't know all that much about him. She wiped away the tears from her face and was about to leave when she remembered the name that he had been looking at before. She walked a few paces over to the memorial and searched for the name. She found it near the bottom.

"Uchiha Obito," she whispered. "I wonder who that is." Then she turned around and started walking back towards her house.


	2. Thoughts

Chapter 2: Thinking

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Naruto knew something was wrong the moment he saw her. He was standing in the middle of the street, waiting for Sakura to join him.

Her eyes were red, puffy, and bloodshot from lack of sleep and her clothes were wrinkled. She was rubbing her eyes and yawning as she walked slowly towards him. Her feet seemed to be moving by themselves, step by step. As she abruptly stopped walking and stood next to him he said:

"Um, Sakura is everything okay? You don't look so good."

She looked up at him with a small smile. She was obviously very tired.

"I'm okay," she sighed, "I was up late studying."

"But-"

"Really Naruto, I'm fine," she said telling him silently to drop the conversation.

"You pulled another all-nighter, huh?" he asked. He let out a sigh.

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

Naruto checked his watch.

Come on, we better get moving. We might actually be later than Kakashi-sensei," He smiled at his own joke. Sakura giggled.

"I don't think that's possible," she grinned. Naruto always knew how to cheer her up.

They started off at a brisk pace to the training fields. When they reached team 7's designated spot, as usual Kakashi wasn't there yet. They sat down with their backs against a tree.

"Well Sakura," Naruto said, "Kakashi won't be here for," He counted on his fingers. She laughed. "like, another two hours, so you might as well get some sleep."

"I think I'll do that," she said and before her head touched the ground she was in dreamland.

Naruto sat back and prepared to wait. He looked at Sakura with worry plastered on his usually happy face. He could tell that her red eyes weren't just from lack of sleep, she had been crying. _'There is only one reason she would be crying…Sasuke. I'm positive I didn't say anything though which means there would only be one more person that would set her off.' _ He sighed. _'Kakashi-sensei has a lot of explaining to do.'_

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Kakashi looked up at the pale blue sky. He was standing at the memorial stone as usual. The sun was steadily getting higher.

"I'd better go. They're going to kill me as it is," he said to himself.

He was referring to Sakura and Naruto. The truth was they didn't yell at him anymore simply because they were used to it by now, but he had to have an excuse to leave. He started walking down the little path in the forest to meet his former students. He stopped behind a tree just before he reached the clearing. Naruto was sitting with his back against a tree next to Sakura, who appeared to be sleeping. Naruto had a worried look on his face.

'_What is he so concerned about? He never looks like that.' _ He walked into view.

"Yo. Wake up Sakura, we have a mission," he said.

"No, not yet," Naruto replied seriously. "I have to talk to you first." He shifted his gaze from Sakura to Kakashi. Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Look at her eyes," Naruto commanded.

Kakashi did. Her eyes were puffy and red. He frowned. He hadn't meant for her to think about what he said that much.

"So, she didn't get enough sleep," he said casually.

"No," Naruto said again just as sternly. "It's not just that. She was crying." He paused for dramatic effect. "You know she only cries about one thing. I'm positive I didn't say anything about him that would make her cry, so what did you say?"

Kakashi sighed. _'Crap. Naruto is only like this when he is really mad.'_ He resisted the urge to smile. _'He wouldn't have been this concerned about her when we first met. Now, he's just like someone else I used to know…'_ He looked up at the sky again, thinking about what the heck he would say. Naruto wouldn't stop until he got a good answer and he knew it.

"We talked," he said, trying to buy time.

"And?" Naruto persisted. Kakashi finally thought of something.

"I told her something I used to tell myself everyday," he said quietly, barely above a whisper. "Will you please wake up Sakura now?"

Naruto's expression changed from stern and serious, to questioning and confused, but he seemed to be satisfied.

"Fine," he replied. He leaned over to Sakura and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, wake up. Sensei's here."

"Mm. What?" she said dazedly and sat up. She looked around confusedly. "Oh, hi sensei."

"Now then," Kakashi cleared his throat and started to talk again. "As I was explaining to Naruto, we have a mission."

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**Hi peoples! Oooo cliffhanger. I'm evil. This might be the last chapter for a while. I'm going on vacation at the end of July. I might be able to get one more in we'll see. Sorry about putting this in the narusaku section. I was spaced out. Just in case you didn't know the writing in italics is someone thinking. (Hopefully you figured that out already.) Sasuke will be coming in the next few chapters I promise. Suggestions are welcome. Please review.**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	3. Enter Sasuke

**HI EVERYONE!! Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm glad that at least a few people are enjoying this story. As promised, Sasuke will be in this chapter with a few flashbacks as well. (I love writing flashbacks!!) Now then, on with chapter three!!!!**

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Chapter 3: Enter Sasuke

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Sasuke Uchiha sat up on his squeaky bed with a yawn. He went over to the dirty window to let some fresh air in the tiny room. He sat back down on the bed and looked out the window to watch the sunrise, a sliver of orange peeking over the horizon. The last time he had watched the sunrise was on a mission with team 7…

**FLASHBACK**

"Hey, you guys have to see this." Kakashi poked his head into the tent where Sasuke and Sakura were sleeping.

"What is it?" Sakura rolled over in her sleeping bag. "It can't be much later than five-o-clock in the morning."

"Just trust me," Kakashi said. He withdrew his head.

They were on a mission to obtain important information from Sunagakure, or the village hidden in the sand. To everyone's surprise Sasuke had actually volunteered to share a tent with Sakura, mainly because there was no way he was going to sleep in the same tent with Kakashi, it would just be too weird. And the simple fact was nobody should have to sleep next to Naruto, who snored constantly and talked in his sleep. All though he really had no desire to share a tent with Sakura, it was a heck of a lot better than Naruto, so he put up with it.

"Oi guys, come on!" This time it was Naruto who poked his head in. Sasuke bonked him on the head. (**'Bonked' is a technical term. P) **

"We're coming, you idiot," Sasuke said in a bored tone.

"Yeah Naruto, give us a second," Sakura piped up.

Sasuke and Sakura scrambled out of their sleeping bags and out of the tent. What they saw was nothing short of spectacular. Sakura gasped and even Sasuke's eyes widened. The bright orange sun was about halfway in view. A few lazy pink clouds hovered near it in the yellowish sky.

Sasuke turned to see Naruto's and Kakashi's reactions. Naruto was watching the sun with a grin on his face; Kakashi was watching Naruto's expression with an amused and knowing look, as if he was remembering something. He spotted Sasuke watching him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. Sasuke nodded his head silently.

**END FLASHBACK**

He fell back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He knew every inch of that ceiling, down to the last crack and paint smudge. The room wasn't that big to begin with anyway. Basically, it was a little square. It contained a bed in the corner with a little nightstand next to it and a dresser on the opposite wall.

A knock came on the door.

"Yeah," Sasuke said in that same bored voice.

The door slid open revealing the gray-haired medic ninja that Sasuke particularly hated.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto adjusted his circular glasses before answering.

"Lord Orochimaru wants to see you in five minutes," he said icily.

"Fine," Sasuke replied, pretending not to notice the edge in Kabuto's voice.

As soon as Kabuto slid the door again, Sasuke jumped out of bed and put on his usual clothes. He opened the top drawer of the dresser and removed a rather large katana which he jammed into the purple rope thingy around his waist.

He stepped out into the hallway, turned right, and started walking. At the end of the hallway he turned left into a narrower hallway; two people could barely walk side by side. Doors lined the walls periodically. After walking past about ten doors he stopped at a slightly larger one than the rest and knocked on it.

"Come in," said a voice.

Sasuke turned the door knob and pushed it open. Inside the room, across from him was a desk with a table and two chairs in front of it. Instead of going to sit in one of the chairs he simply leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. There were a few interesting pictures hanging on the walls. Orochimaru sat behind the desk reading a scroll despite the lack of light, there were only two torches on the walls and no windows for natural light. He looked up from whatever he was reading at Sasuke and gave him an evil smile.

"Ah, Sasuke I have a mission for you," Orochimaru hissed and gave Sasuke the creeps.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said to Orochimaru in a why-the-heck-did-you-wake-me-up-at-six-in-the-morning kinda voice.

Orochimaru tossed a scroll at Sasuke, who plucked it out of the air idly.

"Your mission is to assassinate this man." He held up a picture of an older man, probably in his late 50's with grayish-black hair and bright blue eyes. "He is an important politician in the land of lightning and lives just outside Kumogakure. I want him dead."

"Why?" Sasuke asked icily.

"Don't question my motives, Sasuke. You will do as I ask." He paused. "Think of it as a test to prove your skills." He gave Sasuke another evil smile.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He liked to avoid pointless killing if at all possible. He didn't want to become like the very person he wanted to destroy, but for now it seemed that he had no choice and Orochimaru knew it.

"Fine, I'll do it." A little light bulb went on in his head. "On one condition."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Orochimaru said mockingly.

"You will teach me a new technique when I get back."

Orochimaru raised one eyebrow, then lowered it and smiled yet again.

"You learn quick, boy. Deal."

Sasuke exited the room as soon as possible, scroll in hand. He returned to his room and got an old backpack which he jammed some clothes into and some food he snuck from the kitchens. He looked toward the sun which was now fully in the sky. He remembered something else about that mission that seemed so long ago…

**FLASHBACK**

Sasuke continued to stare at the sunrise. Suddenly, he felt Sakura's hand slip into his and she squeezed it and he squeezed back. He didn't quite know why he did it, but he did. Sakura turned to look at him with a shocked expression on her face. He immediately let go and shoved his hands in his pockets. Sakura blushed and turned away from him. Luckily, Naruto and Kakashi appeared not to have noticed. Now, Kakashi turned toward them.

"Let's go guys; we still have a mission to complete."

**END FLASHBACK**

Sasuke scolded himself. He couldn't afford to get attached to anyone even if he did want to. Avenging his clan was his main priority.

He left his room and this time turned the opposite direction and walked to a door at the end of the hall that leads outside. He walked out of the building and took off into the trees gratefully; it was good to be out of that dump. He knew that today would be another eighty degree day and it got really hot and stuffy in there. And on top of that, there was no air conditioning.

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**Thanks for reading!! Is it just me or does anyone else think the purple rope thing that all the sound people wear is really dumb. How did you like the ending? I must say I thought the whole air conditioning thing was pretty funny. Please review!!**

**Please read another fanfic my friend and I are writing. It's called Shinobi of WAr. It's kinda based on Kakashi Gaiden.We are desperate for reviews. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!**


	4. A New Mission

**Hi again!! Before I start writing I have reply to some reviews. Isabel: I really don't know where I'm going with this. I'm kinda just making it up as I go, but now that you mention it there probably will be something to test the love between Sakura and Sasuke. lalala: God I hate those purple rope things!! I'm glad that you support me in that. ) **

**Okay now that that is done I can talk some more. In this chapter there will be more KakaRin and NaruHina. Hopefully all you romance freaks will be satisfied. Thank you for all the reviews!! On to chapter four!!**

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Chapter 4: A New Mission

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Naruto smiled to himself as he watched the very same sunrise that even right now Sasuke was staring at in the Sound. Today was the day they started their new mission. Kakashi hadn't told them anything about it yet, but told them that he would explain when they met this morning. They were to meet at the village gates with everything packed and ready to go.

Naruto hopped out of bed and threw some clothes on. He shoved some extra clothes; instant ramen, weapons, and a few other things in a backpack then locked up and headed out to meet Sakura and Kakashi.

To his surprise he found Sakura already there waiting for him. She looked much better than she had the previous day, he noticed.

"Hey, Sakura!" he called.

"Hi, Naruto," she replied.

"Why are you here so early?" he asked while adjusting the straps of his backpack.

"Oh, I just got up early this morning and I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so I came out here." She paused. "So we're just waiting for Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yep," he answered, "as usual."

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"No…Obito…sensei…why…don't go…no…Rin…"

Kakashi sat straight up in his bed, sweaty and breathing hard. He swore, and then took a few deep breaths. His nightmares were getting worse lately.

'_Damn nightmares. Obito dying, sensei dying, Rin leaving...'_

**FLASHBACK**

Kakashi and Rin stood about ten feet away from Konoha's gates and stared up at them. Rin was going on a mission to a small village where the people were getting sick from a strange disease. Being a medic, it was her job to go there and help the people get better. The only problem was that she could easily catch the disease and end up dying from it. That was what made Kakashi worry.

He held her hand tightly, not wanting to let her go. Rin glanced at him. His face was completely emotionless. She managed to wrench her hand away from his grasp to hug him and he hugged back.

"Kakashi I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay. Just complete your mission and come back soon," he answered.

She pulled away from him. His face still betrayed no sign of any emotion. She glanced at his left eye which contained the sharingan and was now covered by his hitai-ate.

"Yeah," she said quietly and started walking away.

He didn't want her to go. He felt like he had to say something. She was five feet away from the gates, three feet away, two, one…

"Rin."

She stopped, but didn't turn to him.

"Look at me," Kakashi commanded.

She did. His once emotionless face now betrayed signs of worry and fear. He looked her straight in the eye.

"Don't you dare," he began, but then stopped. What he was trying to say wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. "Don't you dare die on me, Rin. You're the only one I have left. I can't lose you."

He emphasized the last sentence more than the rest. Her eyes widened and then she looked at the ground, hair obscuring her face. He could tell that she was trying not to cry. Two teardrops fell to the dry dirt, but then she rubbed her eyes and looked up at him with a stern expression.

"You know I can't promise that."

Now it was his turn to be surprised. He had never heard her say anything like that before. She grabbed the chain around her neck. It was a simple black cord with a charm on it. The charm was the kanji for his name. He had one exactly like it, only with the kanji for her name on it. She had given it to him after their sensei died and said that if he wore it she could always watch over him.

"But you know I'll always be with you, Kakashi."

Without another word she turned away and took off into the trees. He clenched his fist around the necklace in an effort to keep himself from going after her.

He considered it to be one of the worst mistakes of his life.

**END FLASHBACK**

He had never seen her again. Not once. She had never returned to the village. He had assumed she was dead, but something inside him told him that that assumption was wrong.

He sighed as he fingered the necklace that hung around his neck. The cord was dull looking now, but the silver charm that hung on it was as shiny and bright as ever.

He finally forced himself to get out of bed and put some clothes on. He grabbed his bag which he had packed the previous night and headed out the door. _'I'll just stop at the memorial for a short while…'_

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"Jeez, it's about time," Sakura muttered under her breath as Kakashi walked toward them. "Good morning, sensei," she called to him louder.

"Yo," Kakashi replied his usual greeting.

"Can we please go now?" Naruto whined. "We've been waiting forever."

"Are you sure you remembered everything?" Sakura asked Naruto.

He screwed up his face in concentration. Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to turn on in his head, but he quickly resumed his normal expression.

"Yep, I've got everything," he replied somewhat sadly.

"Well then, if everyone is ready to go, let's head out," Kakashi said cheerfully.

Suddenly a bird swooped low overhead and landed in front of them. A note was attached to its leg. Kakashi went to untie the note and read it.

"Oh, joy," he said sarcastically.

"What now?" Sakura said clearly annoyed by yet another delay.

"The hokage wants to see me. Apparently she has more information on our mission and it doesn't look good," he replied. "I'll be back soon." He dashed off the opposite direction.

They watched him go until they couldn't see him anymore and then Naruto said:

"Good, I'm glad he's gone."

"What?" Sakura replied, not comprehending.

"I did forget something," Naruto said sheepishly, "I have to go say goodbye to Hinata."

Sakura smiled. That was classic Naruto, even forgetting to say goodbye to his own girlfriend.

"I'll go with you," she offered and Naruto nodded. They headed off in the direction of the Hyuga household.

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A short while later they were standing in front of a large wrought iron gate. Naruto clicked it open and gestured for Sakura to go in front of him.

"I'll stay here and wait," she said. Secretly she was eager to see what he would do without her there.

He shrugged and walked through the gate which clanged behind him. He walked up the short path and rang the doorbell. To Sakura's surprise Hiashi Hyuga himself answered the door. Naruto bowed low.

"Hello sir, I came to see Hinata. Is she there?" Naruto said politely. Hiashi gave a stiff nod and left the door.

Sakura stared wide eyed at Naruto. She had never seen him act that way before in his life. It also made her wonder why he didn't act so polite around her.

A few seconds later Hinata appeared at the door. Naruto gave her a huge grin. She opened the door and threw her arms around him. He staggered back a little bit.

"Wow Hinata, you must really be glad to see me. You practically knocked me over," Naruto said and gave her a hug. She blushed.

"I am very glad to see you," she replied softly and smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" he replied. "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and I are leaving on a mission pretty soon, so I'd thought I'd stop by to say goodbye."

"Oh, okay." Her smile faded slightly.

"Please don't worry about me," Naruto said more concerned.

"Just be careful," she said pleadingly.

"I promise," he said. She smiled at him again.

He turned to walk down the path. She watched him go. He got about three steps away before turning back around.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he said to himself.

He walked back over to her. She raised her eyebrows at him. Then he grabbed both of her hands tightly and kissed her. Sakura smiled. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"I love you."

She beamed at him as he walked down the path and out the gate smiling to himself.

Sakura joined Naruto when he walked by.

"Nice joke, Romeo," she said sarcastically. He raised one eyebrow at her.

"It wasn't a joke," he said seriously.

Sakura blinked in confusion for a second and then grinned. _'Hinata is so lucky.'_

They found Kakashi waiting for them.

"Where have you been?" he asked. Naruto gasped.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed sarcastically while evading the question. "You were actually waiting for us? This cannot be happening."

Sakura giggled. Kakashi struggled to keep a smile off his face and failed horribly. Eventually, he broke into out a full out grin.

"You should be proud of yourself, sensei," Sakura said between giggles.

Kakashi looked at his team fondly. It had been a while since they had a good laugh.

His eyes softened slightly.

"Come on," he said and they walked out of Konoha.

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**Whew! That was a long one. I am so proud of myself. I have a question: Should I make Rin come back? Please tell me what you think!! I regret to say that this will be the last chapter for a while. I am going to Washington in a few days and cannot type there. I will return in the middle of August some time and update as soon as possible. **

**Reminder: Please read a fanfic that my friend and I are writing, Shinobi of WAr by Arashi Uzumaki1012!!! We need reviews!!!!!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	5. Sound Ninja

**Hey everyone I'm finally back from vacation!!! For the past three weeks I have been thinking of ideas for this chapter, so I'm ready to go. I apologize for the wait, but hopefully this will make up the difference. Since no one rejected the idea, Rin will come back in future chapters. Please let me know if I get a little too carried away with Kakashi as he is my favorite character and I tend to do that. A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Okay I'll shut up now, here's chapter 5!!**

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Chapter 5: Sound Ninja

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There was no sound. Nothing could be heard for miles around. Sasuke sat at the base of a large tree and made no attempt to break the silence. He enjoyed it. There was no Kabuto glaring at him, no Orochimaru to give him orders, just the wilderness around him. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"You can come out now. I know you're there."

The leaves rustled in the trees around him. Five figures appeared before him. He slowly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on them.

"You knew," the first Sound ninja said disappointedly. "Lord Orochimaru underestimates you."

"Why did he send you here?" Sasuke leaned forward and set his hands on his knees.

He could see that these weren't just some lower-ranking ninja. They were all probably chunnin or higher. Maybe even ANBU level.

"We were sent to watch you to make sure you completed the mission," another ninja explained.

"Does Orochimaru doubt me? Does he think I am not suitable for this mission?" Sasuke questioned further.

They all remained silent.

"Well, now that you're here you might as well do me a favor," The Uchiha stood up and grabbed his backpack. "Luckily for you, I won't tell Orochimaru I found out you're here if you scout around. I have an uneasy felling that I'm being followed by someone else."

The five Shinobi nodded and took off in opposite directions.

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The clouds flew by overhead as the three ninja sped through the trees. It was eerily quiet among them. The only sound was the occasional thump of a sandal as they jumped from branch to branch.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. The silence was getting to him.

"Are you going to tell us about the mission now, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked.

Sakura turned her attention to her teammate. She was also wondering why Kakashi hadn't said anything yet, maybe more so because it looked like they were heading for the Sound village. She could tell Naruto had noticed it too.

"I agree with Naruto," she said. "Tell us."

Kakashi glanced around them.

"Not now," he whispered, "The trees have ears."

Sakura nodded and focused on where she was going. She glanced at Naruto. His face showed more confusion than ever, but he had enough sense to keep his mouth shut. Sakura sweat dropped. _'What an idiot. He's probably wondering where the tree's ears are.'_

The day wore on. Kakashi kept pushing them until finally the sun was setting behind the trees. They covered a lot of ground though and were now outside the fire country to the right of the Sound. Kakashi chose a secluded area where they camped for the night. They lit a fire and (thanks to Naruto) boiled some instant ramen. (Sakura wasn't too happy about that, but she ate it anyway.)

"Will you please tell us where we are going now?" Naruto piped up. "We've been waiting all day."

"Yes, I will tell you now, but please keep your voices down." Kakashi shot a look at Naruto. Sakura smiled a little. Kakashi took a deep breath.

"We are going to the Lightning country."

Sakura let out a relieved sigh. They weren't going to the Sound village, so that was good. But the relief quickly turned to confusion. Why were they going to the Lightning country? Fire and Lightning were not on real friendly terms.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "We-"

Kakashi and Sakura both quickly put a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura hissed.

Naruto crossed his arms and Kakashi and Sakura took their hands away.

"Why are we going to the Lightning country?" Naruto asked.

"We will be bodyguards for a man named Takeshi Hakane. He lives just outside the Hidden Cloud village. As of late, he has been receiving threats usually in a letter or note. A short while ago he found his house was broken into when he was only away from home for a short time. He doesn't know why anyone would want him dead, although he is a politician."

"I think that would probably explain it," Naruto interrupted. Kakashi ignored him and went on.

"He didn't want to get help from his own village because for all he knows-

"His own village could be trying to kill him," Sakura finished. Kakashi nodded solemnly.

"I don't like it," Naruto said stubbornly.

"Why not?" Sakura asked. "The guy has no one else to turn to."

"He knows," Naruto gestured to Kakashi.

"I do?" Kakashi said confusedly. He thought for a minute then raised one eyebrow. "Oh, now I see. The attempted kidnapping?"

Naruto nodded reluctantly.

"Um, explanation please," Sakura said while looking at the two of them suspiciously.

"A ninja from the Cloud village tried to kidnap Hinata," Naruto said.

"What?" Sakura was shocked. "When did this happen?"

"She was three, I think," Kakashi said.

He tried not to smile. _'I suppose if I had to go on a mission to the village that tried to abduct my girlfriend, I'd be pretty mad too.'_

Silence ensued once more. Kakashi sighed. There was more he had to tell them, he just didn't want to.

"Remember when I went to meet the Hokage this morning?" His two former students nodded. "Well, she called me because they had gotten more information on our mission. That morning an ANBU squad reported that they had seen Sound ninja in the Lightning country near the Hidden Cloud village. That is why I've been so "secretive". We could be being followed right now. It is possible Orochimaru may be involved in this."

He looked at Naruto and Sakura. They both just stared into the fire, unseeing. Not a good reaction. He sighed. Tsunade just wouldn't listen.

**FLASHBACK**

"You wanted to see me Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi opened the door to the Hokage's office and stepped inside.

For once he noticed that she looked like she was actually working. There were no empty sake bottles on the desk, but lots of paperwork.

"Yes, Kakashi," She shuffled some more papers in her hand. "There is new information on your mission." She paused for a moment and glanced at the papers, then put them down on the already cluttered desk and crossed her arms. "According to an ANBU team that recently returned from the Lightning country, Sound ninja were seen around the borders of the Cloud village."

Kakashi's eyes widened, but she continued.

"Orochimaru may want that politician dead, but for what reason I do not know."

Kakashi remained silent for a moment.

"In that case I request that my team be taken off this mission," he finally said.

"I can't do that," she replied.

"Why not?" he asked. She sighed.

"Your team is the only one experienced enough for this mission that is available right now. An encounter with the Uchiha would be regrettable, but I can't afford to send anyone else. If could I would send out anyone but them, but I can't."

Kakashi gritted his teeth. He was losing this argument.

"What about Sakura?"

"What about her?"

He struggled for the right words. He had to convince her.

"She still loves him. When he left she was devastated. If she sees him again I don't think she'd be able to handle it. You of all people must understand that. You're her teacher."

She sighed and turned to look out the window.

"What about you, Kakashi? You're her teacher as well. Why are you so determined to protect them? Sakura and Naruto are perfectly capable of handling themselves."

She turned around to look at him. For one moment, just for a second, his gaze drifted to his feet, but he quickly looked back up. Tsunade's eyes softened a little. Had she noticed that small gesture?

"I have my reasons," he said evasively. After a moment Tsunade nodded.

"Very well then, you are dismissed."

She looked down at the mess of papers on her desk.

"Oh and Kakashi," he stopped halfway through the door and turned around, "do keep an eye on both of them, especially Naruto, you never know what he'll do next."

"Of course Tsunade-sama."

**END FLASHBACK**

She should have called it off, but she didn't. All he could do was hope that they wouldn't meet Sasuke and if they did, hope he wouldn't kill them.

He waved his hand in front of Naruto and Sakura's faces. They both blinked.

"Get some sleep," Kakashi ordered. "I'll take first watch."

They both nodded and walked over to their sleeping bags. For a while Sakura just laid and watched the stars. _'We could meet Sasuke. What would happen? How can we bring him back?'_ A million questions whirled through her brain. Finally she drifted off in an uneasy sleep.

Little did they know that Sasuke wasn't far ahead of them.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Well, by now you can probably guess where this is going. I know this chapter wasn't all that amazing, but for all you action junkies out there, big fight scene is coming up! Next chapter will be coming next week. Please review!!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	6. Nightmares

**Well, the rating has changed. I just noticed the other day that anybody younger than 13 probably shouldn't be reading this. (sweat drops) Well anyway, happy reading. On to chapter 6!!**

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Chapter 6: Nightmares

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Sakura woke up in the middle of the night. She had been having that same nightmare for a week now. It was really getting on her nerves. She took a look around. The fire had burned down, there was only a few small embers glowing amongst the ashes. Across from her on the other side of the fire Kakashi was sleeping. She looked around for Naruto. He was sitting a few feet away from her, keeping watch. Deciding that she probably wouldn't get back to sleep now, she walked over to him.

"Hey, are you tired yet?"

Naruto jumped a little and turned around to face her.

"Oh Sakura, it's just you. You kinda freaked me out for a second."

"Sorry," she apologized and sat down on the ground next to him.

"It's fine. Did I wake you up?" he asked nervously.

"No… I was… nightmares," she finished sheepishly.

"You too, huh?" he asked.

"You have nightmares?" she said surprised.

'_How could Naruto of all people have nightmares? He's so goofy and happy all the time.'_

Naruto chuckled sadly.

"Sakura, I have no parents and I was a total outcast. I've had nightmares every night as far back as I can remember."

"Oh," Sakura said ashamed.

She looked up at the stars again. She envied them, glittering in the dark sky. They were free, unlike her. They just watched the people down on the land, not having a care in the world. Not having to worry about anything.

"No…stop…"

Sakura jumped to her feet and turned around, kunai in hand, expecting to see someone coming at her. Naruto didn't even flinch.

"It's okay," he said soothingly, "he's been doing that for about three hours now."

That's when she noticed where the noise was coming from. Kakashi was talking in his sleep. Weird. She sat back down.

"Three hours?" she repeated.

"Yep," he replied lazily. She giggled.

"That's funny. What does he say?"

"More of the same. Don't go, stop, come back, stuff like that. Just random words. But…" he stopped.

"What?"

"There was one time he said, "Don't die. I can save you" or something like that. It was so fast I could barely hear it."

Sakura's eyes widened and she glanced from Kakashi to Naruto and back again. Then she sighed.

"Sounds to me like we're all pretty messed up," she said quietly. Naruto looked at her thoughtfully. An awkward silence ensued.

"Sakura," Naruto finally said, "What are we going to do."

It was a statement, not a question. If they met Sasuke on this mission, who knows what would happen.

"I don't know Naruto, I really don't know."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Wake up, Sakura."

Sakura felt someone shake her gently, but she didn't want to wake up. Not yet.

"Sakura, you were supposed to keep watch."

She opened her eyes to see Kakashi and Naruto standing over her. She blinked a couple times to get used to the sunlight.

"We have to get going," Kakashi said.

She sat up. The fire was put all the way out and it looked like they were all packed. Naruto tossed her backpack in front of her.

"I told him to let you sleep for as long as possible," he said and pointed to Kakashi, "I think everything is in there."

"Thank you, Naruto. I'm sorry I fell asleep on watch, we could've all been killed."

"Actually, it's okay," Kakashi said, "If no one attacked us it either means a) we're not being followed, but I doubt we aren't, b) our pursuers don't want to kill us, or c) they aren't capable of doing so."

"Even still, I shouldn't have-

"Oh come on, Sakura," Naruto interrupted, "we're all alive, so don't worry about it."

He gave her one of his goofiest grins. She smiled.

"Okay."

"We should get a move on. Let's go," Kakashi said urgently.

"Alright, alright, geez," Naruto said.

Once more they took off into the trees.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Sasuke stood a good twenty feet away from the small cabin. There was definitely someone in there, but who was it? If there was more than one person in there and somebody managed to escape, he could end up with hidden cloud ninja chasing him. That would definitely not be good. He glanced at the trees around him.

'_Where are those Shinobi I sent to look around. I still have that feeling that I'm being followed…and it's getting closer.'_

He suddenly turned his attention back to the house. Through the small front window he saw an older man washing dishes at the sink. Sasuke looked at the picture in his hand and at the man in the window. It was certainly the same person and he only sensed one person in the house, but you can't sense little children or really old people because they don't have as much chakra.

"It's now or never," he muttered to himself.

Silently he ran around the house where there was a back door. He had scoped it out earlier. He slowly walked to the door and turned the doorknob. It was locked. Big surprise. He focused his chakra in his hand and sent a jolt of it through the lock. It clicked softly. He opened the door.

'_Good thing it didn't creak. That would have been a disaster.'_

He was looking down a short hallway with doors on either side. He crept down to the end of it without making a sound. He saw the man on the right washing dishes still. He slowly pulled his sword from the sheath.

'_I'll make it quick. No more blood than necessary.'_

He moved quickly behind the man and put his katana to the guy's neck. The man instantly stopped moving and dropped a plate which crashed rather loudly in the sink. Beads of sweat appeared on his face.

"You are Takeshi Hakane?" Sasuke asked icily.

"Y-yes," the man stuttered.

Without so much as a twitch of hesitation Sasuke slit the man's throat killing him instantly. He felled to the floor in a heap. Sasuke sighed.

'_Mission accomplished.'_

"Grandpa? Grandpa!! Ahhhhh!"

Sasuke whipped his head around. A little girl was standing there looking at her grandpa lying dead on the floor. She looked up at him in wide eyed fear.

'_Damn! I knew there was someone else. I have to get out of here, someone could have heard her scream.'_

But before he could move, the door opened.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Someone screamed. A little girl, Sakura could tell.

"No, no, no, no," Kakashi said and picked up his speed. Naruto and Sakura did the same.

"Are we almost there?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, but we better get there," Sakura said worriedly. "Fast," she added.

A little log cabin came into view. She ran faster. She was ahead of Naruto and Kakashi now.

'_Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead.'_ She repeated in her head.

The door was inches away from her. She pulled it open.

"No…."

There was absolutely no way in the entire world she could have been prepared for that. Anything but that. He was standing over the body, katana in hand. There was fresh blood on it. The one person she was so afraid of, but would have given almost anything to have him back.

"Sasuke…"

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Another cliffy. I am evil today. Oh well, if you weren't very interested before you should be now. **

**Will Sasuke attack Sakura? Possibly.**

**Will somebody get hurt? Maybe.**

**Will there be a huge fight? Most definitely.**

**Thank you for all the reviews!! Please keep them coming and stay tuned.**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	7. Realization

**Hey everybody! I believe this is the chapter you've been waiting for. I know, you're all like, "Yes! Finally a fight scene!" Well, there you have it. Thank you ****so**** much for the reviews! I am deeply grateful. Please keep them coming! Anyways, I'll stop talking now. Woo hoo chapter 7!!**

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Chapter 7: Realization

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"Sasuke…"

At this point two things happened at once. 1) Kakashi and Naruto caught up with Sakura and saw Sasuke. 2) Five sound nin jumped out of the surrounding trees and attacked them. **(I know what you're thinking: ****OH CRAP.**

"Naruto, move!" Kakashi shouted.

Naruto jumped to the side. Kakashi managed to grab Sakura and pull her away just barely missing a blur of kunai that came at them. He dragged her over to the side of the house. She collapsed against the wall.

"He's in there. It's him," she said dazedly.

"Sakura, listen to me. Sakura!" Kakashi said sternly.

She looked up at him with a blank stare and nodded numbly.

"Listen, Sakura, did you see the girl in there?"

She blinked and nodded again.

"You have to get her out of there, no matter what, understand? Get her out and hide her behind the house. Fast."

"O-okay," she stuttered.

Kakashi closed his eyes and turned around. He pulled up his hitai-ate and opened both of his eyes. He sighed.

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to end well?" he said quietly and ran towards the front of the house.

Sakura watched him go and stood up. She brushed her pink hair out of her eyes and set off in the opposite direction with a new look of determination on her face.

'_Of course Kakashi-sensei's right, as usual. I have to put Sasuke out of my mind and focus on the mission. I just wish that wasn't so hard.'_

She hurried around to the back door and opened it silently. She came to a hallway with doors on either side. She looked down the hall and saw the little girl standing about three feet away from Sasuke and the old man's body. Luckily his back was towards her and he didn't seem to notice her…yet. He hadn't moved an inch.

She silently crept toward the child and put a hand over her mouth. The girl struggled for a second, but upon seeing who her savior was, she immediately stopped. Sakura took her hand away and motioned for the girl to go out the back door. She nodded and started to move. Sakura followed.

But she didn't even get one step before he got behind her. She felt cold steel press against her neck. She froze in fear.

'_No, this can't be happening. No,no,no.'_

Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but they streamed down her face instead. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Shinobi rule 25, don't show your emotions," Sasuke whispered in her ear. "Emotions are a weakness. Crying is a weakness. Love is a weakness."

That was it. That was all it took to make her realize. He didn't love her and he never would. His only concern was for killing his stupid brother. She was of no concern to him. He probably could kill her right now. No, he probably would kill her right now. She waited for the pain that would end it.

"Sasuke-teme! I'll kill you if you hurt Sakura!"

Naruto charged through the front door and threw some shuriken at Sasuke who moved his katana away from Sakura's throat to block them.

"Go Sakura!" Naruto shouted.

She didn't need to be told twice. She opened her eyes and ran down the hallway picking up the little girl as she went who had been standing a little ways away from her and was just as afraid as she was. She heard the clash of metal on metal as she ran out the door. Naruto was definitely a knucklehead, but he had his moments. She took a quick look around to be sure no one was there and put the child down next to her. She knelt down to the girl's eye level.

"Hey there, I'm Sakura. What's your name?" she said sweetly.

"My n-name i-is Akari," the little girl stuttered.

"That's a pretty name. Listen Akari, I need you to come with me."

Akari nodded silently and followed Sakura to a cluster of bushes behind the house.

"You have to stay here until I come back for you, okay?" Sakura said.

"Okay," Akari said quietly while crouching down behind the bushes.

"Everything is going to be just fine," Sakura added and ran around the house to the front.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Meanwhile….

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to end well?" Kakashi muttered and left Sakura.

He sprinted to the front of the house to find his other former student. Naruto was surrounded by all five sound ninja. They seemed to be squaring off. No one took notice of him. Kakashi knew Naruto could take care of himself, but he was outnumbered by five ninja of at least chunnin status.

'_Don't underestimate them, Naruto.'_

Nobody moved for a few more seconds.

'_I have to find a way to give Naruto the upper hand. Maybe if I can provide a distraction…'_

He body-flickered to a tree behind Naruto and threw a kunai at one of the sound Shinobi, hitting him in the chest and successfully killing him. The other ninja looked around at their teammate, or upwards at the surrounding trees, trying to discern where the attack was coming from… which gave Naruto his chance.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" he shouted and charged at the unprepared Sound nin.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Kakashi jumped out of the tree and landed next to Naruto.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"I told her to get the girl," Kakashi replied.

"She's in the house? With Sasuke?" Naruto said with disbelief on his face.

Before Kakashi had time to reply, Naruto took off towards the front door.

"Naruto, no!" Kakashi yelled, but he didn't hear him.

The first thing Naruto saw when he ran through the door was Sasuke, who was about to kill Sakura, who was crying. His heart skipped a beat.

"Sasuke-teme! I'll kill you if you hurt Sakura!"

He took some shuriken out of his holster and threw them at Sasuke. Sasuke blocked them with his katana, freeing Sakura.

"Go Sakura!" Naruto shouted.

And she did. She ran down the hallway and out the back door, taking the girl with her. Sasuke lowered his katana to the side and looked at Naruto with an amused expression. They stared at each other for a minute.

"You're going to kill me, huh?" he said tauntingly. "Do it then."

That pushed Naruto over the edge. He got into a fighting stance. He started to gather chakra in his palm for the rasengan. Sasuke didn't move at all. He knew he could easily evade the attack. Naruto charged.

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto and held out a hand to keep him back. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Move out of the way, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said angrily.

"No, Naruto, I won't. If I do, he'll kill you."

Sasuke smirked.

"That's funny; I was under the impression that Naruto was going to be the one doing the killing."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"But I can see that's obviously not going to happen. He just doesn't have the heart for it."

Naruto growled.

"If you're saying that you do have the heart for it, you can kill without even thinking, that isn't something that I would be proud of. If that's who you are, then you're no worse than Itachi," Naruto said triumphantly.

Sasuke gripped his katana tighter and gave his old teammate a murderous glare.

"You're going to regret that, Naruto."

At that moment something happened that no one could have predicted.

"No. He won't regret it."

Sakura appeared next to Sasuke and punched him hard, instantly knocking him out. Sasuke slammed into the wall from the force of it and slumped to the floor. Naruto's mouth dropped open. Kakashi just sighed with relief.

"Sakura you just-," Naruto started, but he didn't finish his sentence.

Sakura sighed.

"I know, Naruto, I know."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Dun, dun, dun! Sakura knocks out Sasuke. It can't get much better than that. But the real question is, what is Sasuke's point of view in all this? You'll find out in the next chapter. Sadly, school starts in like a week, so I don't know when I'll be able to update next. Just try to be patient with me. Hope you liked it and please review!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	8. Left Behind

**OMG THANK YOU!!! I am very happy to announce that I have now 64 reviews and almost 4000 hits!! Thanks so much to my readers for loving my story so much. I am so glad because this is my first story and I never thought I would get this far. :)**

**Anyways, in this chapter we get to see Sasuke's pov of the fight and most importantly when Sakura punched him. (No offense to Sasuke fans, but you had to know that was coming sometime. :P) Hope you like it and thanks again. Now on to chapter 8!!**

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Chapter 8: Left Behind

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Sakura appeared next to Sasuke and punched him hard, instantly knocking him out. Sasuke slammed into the wall from the force of it and slumped to the floor. Naruto's mouth dropped open. Kakashi just sighed with relief.

"Sakura you just-," Naruto started, but he didn't finish his sentence.

Sakura sighed.

"I know, Naruto, I know."

Kakashi pulled down his hitai-ate to cover his sharingan eye. He turned to Sakura.

"Where's the girl?"

Sakura looked puzzled for a second, but then she blinked in recognition.

"Akari!" she exclaimed and ran out the back door.

Naruto sighed.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore," he said exasperatedly.

Kakashi chuckled.

"Don't worry. You'll get it in a minute."

A few minutes later Sakura walked back towards them with Akari holding her hand. She introduced Naruto and Kakashi to the still frightened girl who nodded slowly when she heard their names. Sakura glanced over at the body of the older man. Unfortunately, Akari followed her gaze.

"That's my grandpa!" she said and started crying uncontrollably.

Naruto walked over to the little girl and turned her around to face him. He smiled at her and she looked back at him with teary eyes.

"It's gonna be okay," he said.

"And you know what?" Sakura chimed in.

"W-what?" she said between sobs.

"Your grandpa is up in heaven now and he's going to watch over you."

"Really?" Akari said still crying, but not as much.

"Yep," Naruto replied.

Kakashi sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He hoped for Akari's sake that his students were right. _'She's only probably four years old and she's already lost the only family she has left.'_ He looked at Sasuke out cold on the floor. _'I hope she isn't going to want revenge for that.'_

"We should get going," he said.

"Right. I'll grab Sasuke," Naruto said and started to walk towards him.

"Naruto… We're not taking him with us."

Naruto stopped dead and wheeled around to face his sensei. Sakura looked up at him too.

"What do you mean we're not taking him with us? Of course we are!"

"I think if we take him with us, when he wakes up, he will probably try to kill us. He almost did about five minutes ago. If Sakura hadn't come, one of us or maybe both of us would probably be dead right now. Even if we tied him up and took his weapons away, it could still be fatal. I don't want to take that risk."

"Are you crazy?!" Naruto shouted. "Sakura help me out here!"

Naruto looked at her pleadingly. She didn't know what to say, but then she remembered Sasuke's words. _'Love is a weakness.' _She hung her head.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I agree with Kakashi-sensei," she said quietly.

Naruto gaped at her in disbelief.

"But Sakura-!

"Please Naruto, let's just leave."

Sakura turned away and walked out the front door with Akari following behind her. Naruto looked from Sasuke to Kakashi and back again. Finally he sighed in defeat.

"We should bury the body," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded.

They took the body out back and Kakashi quickly buried him using an earth style jutsu. Naruto found a large rock and using a chakra-enveloped kunai carved a simple headstone.

Here lies Takeshi Hakane.

His granddaughter will miss him.

They each bowed respectfully and walked around to the front where Sakura was waiting.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Meanwhile…

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Please Naruto, let's just leave."

She turned and walked out the front door. She noticed Akari had followed. The 4-year-old was attached to her now. Sakura sat down and put her head in her hands.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Akari asked in her little voice.

"No, I'm okay," Sakura replied without looking up. "I'm just tired."

Well, at least half of that statement was true. She was really, really tired, but the truth was she was worried too. Her mind was telling her that Sasuke was a jerk and he deserved to be left behind, but her heart was practically breaking in two. _'Curse him. Curse him for making me feel like this.'_

"What's that?"

Akari's voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw the little girl pointing at something in the bushes. She looked closer. It was something shiny? Akari walked over and searched the leaves.

"Look, Sakura, its pretty!" she walked back to where Sakura was sitting.

'_It's a necklace?'_ At least that was what it looked like. She read the charm on it. _'Rin? Who's that?' _She shoved it in her pouch as the boys came around the front. She stood up.

"I take it Akari's coming with us?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

He thought for a minute.

"I suppose so. We can't just leave her here."

Naruto nodded. He took off his backpack and handed it to Kakashi. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him but took it anyways.

"Well, somebody's got to carry her if we want to move fast. I might as well volunteer cause you guys are gonna make me do it anyway."

Naruto carried Akari on his back which was certainly fine by her. Sakura smiled at little. They all took one last look at the house and left.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Ow…"

Sasuke sat up and rubbed his head. He had a massive headache. He supposed that was what happened when you smashed into a wall practically head first. He noticed there was a large dent in it from that.

There was no way he could have anticipated what had happened. He had never thought Sakura could ever be able to hit that hard. But one thing was for sure, she definitely hated him now. Good. She should hate him. It was better that way. The people he loved had a habit of dying. The farther she stayed away from him, the better.

The weird thing was… why didn't they take him back to Konoha? He thought for sure Naruto would drag him back there if he had to. But no, they left him there.

It all started rushing back to him. The man he was assigned to kill, the little girl who was probably his granddaughter, Sakura opening the door and seeing him standing over the body. Then he remembered what he had said to her. _'Shinobi rule 25, don't show your emotions. Emotions are a weakness. Crying is a weakness. Love is a weakness.' _As soon as he had said those words, he hated himself for it, but he wanted her to stay away from him. He didn't want her to get hurt. And then Naruto burst in. What a baka. He said he would kill him. Yeah right. He would never do that. He was too…Narutoish. Sasuke himself sometimes wished that he could be more like his old teammate. But right now he had to focus on his goal and that wouldn't happen if his friends got in the way.

He sheathed his katana, which was lying on the ground next to him, and slowly started to get up. A fresh wave of pain crashed over his head. There would probably be a huge bump on his head later. He sighed.

The old man's body was gone. He figured they buried him. He guessed they took the girl with them too. _'Well, on one hand my mission is complete.'_ He thought satisfied. _'On the other hand I have to go back to the Sound village.'_ He frowned at that aspect. _'Orochimaru did promise to actually teach me something though.'_

He cautiously exited the house. The sun was setting. He had been out for at least three hours. Although going back to the Sound was not the greatest invitation, he was eager to learn a new technique, so grudgingly he took off into the trees.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Well, not the most exciting chapter, but it had to be written. I was determined to get one more chapter done before school starts on Tuesday. (Which totally sucks, I'm really depressed.) And now you know Sasuke's pov of the whole situation. I decided to have Akari come back with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi because if I didn't she wouldn't really have much of a point in this story. And Sakura now has something of Kakashi's… That will be interesting, no? Please be patient for the next chapter, I don't know when I'll have time to write. Please keep reading and reviewing!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	9. The Necklace

**Well, I actually made it through the first week of school. It sucks. It's been one week and I already have a frickin Social Studies project!! It totally sucks!! Hopefully by writing this chapter I can try and relax a little. Okay, in this chapter Sakura asks Kakashi about the necklace… Do I need to say more? Here's chapter 9!!**

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Chapter 9: The Necklace

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By the end of the day everyone was exhausted. They had all taken turns carrying Akari, so basically everyone was ready to collapse except her. But even she was tired as well. Having someone carry you on their back was not the best way to travel and she was still only four years old and didn't have as much energy as the others.

"Kakashi-sensei we can't keep going," Naruto said as he collapsed on the ground.

Sakura shifted her weight and glanced at the sleeping girl she was carrying. She was also about ready to collapse and seeing Akari's sleeping face wasn't helping. A quick glance at her sensei also revealed that he could do with some rest even if they weren't far from the leaf village now.

"Fine, Naruto, fine, we'll camp here for the night," Kakashi finally gave in.

Sakura sighed and laid Akari down in the soft grass. She then unrolled her own sleeping bag and put the girl in it. Akari didn't even stir. Sakura sat down next to her.

Whether she liked it or not, Sakura was becoming attached to Akari. She wondered if the girl would be able to live with her. That would be nice. She wouldn't be so lonely in her apartment and Akari would have someone to look after her. She laid down on the grass and looked up at the stars.

Naruto flopped down his sleeping bag next to Akari and fell asleep as soon as he hit the ground. Kakashi laid down on Sakura's other side and joined her in stargazing.

He took off his vest and hitai-ate and threw it on the ground next to him. Something was missing. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something wasn't right. On a sudden impulse he felt around his neck. The necklace was gone, but that was impossible, he always wore it. _'Could I have lost it? Or…' _A sudden realization occurred to him. It probably came off during the fight. He started to panic. He lost it. She gave it to him and he lost it.

Sakura watched her sensei with concern. He was trying not to show it, but something was wrong. He put his face in his hands. She reached into her pocket.

"Um, sensei?"

"Is it important, Sakura? I don't really want to talk right now."

She sat up and pulled out the necklace and held it in front of him.

"Is this yours?" she asked, curious as to what his reaction would be.

He snapped his head up and stared at the small object in her hand. Relief flooded his face, but he soon concealed his expression.

"Yes, it is. How did you-"

"I won't ask if you won't ask," she cut him off.

He froze for a second and then nodded. He took the necklace away from her and quickly put it around his own neck and hid it behind his shirt. Sakura sighed. She would never know anything about him if she didn't ask so…

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Before she had a chance to say anything, he spoke up first. She lay down next to him and gazed up at the dark sky littered with tiny specks of light.

"I thought I said I won't ask if you won't ask."

He paused and considered that for a second.

"Are you going to tell me anyway?"

She sighed. There was no way getting around this.

"Yeah."

He waited for her to continue. She took a deep breath.

"I went to go get Akari, just like you told me to. I got in silently, with out any problem. I motioned for her to get out and I started to follow, but he got behind me."

She paused.

"He put his sword to my neck. I honestly thought he was going to kill me right then and there. I just froze. My body wouldn't react no matter how many times I told myself to move. I started to cry. And then…"

She clenched her fist.

"Shinobi rule 25, don't show your emotions. Emotions are a weakness. Crying is a weakness. Love is a weakness. That's what he said. And that was all it took to make me realize that he wouldn't love me. Ever."

Kakashi sighed. He knew something like this would happen sooner or later. The only question had been when. And now it was done. He wondered if she would recover from that. He sure hoped so. He never had, but she was stronger than him in that aspect.

"And you know what Kakashi-sensei?"

He glanced in her direction. She didn't look at him. She fixed her eyes on the sky.

"You remember when you talked to me about all of this?"

"Of course," He looked up at the stars again.

"You told me that I should let him go, that it was useless to hang on to him… I didn't want to believe you, but that didn't change the simple fact that you were right… and I was wrong."

"Unfortunately for me, I have a habit of being right. Especially about that kind of thing."

They both stayed silent for a minute.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah."

"So I told you my story… Are you going to tell me yours?" Sakura said hopefully.

Kakashi gave her an amused look.

"No," he said flatly.

"Why not?"

He didn't reply for the longest time, he just stared up, unseeing.

"You don't want to be involved in my past."

She frowned. Now it was really bugging her. She remembered the time that they had tried to find out what his face looked like under the mask. She smiled at the thought. That seemed like so long ago now. She wondered if Kakashi had had times like that with his friends. Happier times. A thought occurred to her.

"It's Rin, right?"

He flinched at her statement.

"I'm guessing she gave you the necklace."

He nodded slowly.

"She must have been really lucky."

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

"She had you, of course."

He didn't say anything. He turned his back to her.

"I was the lucky one."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. She fell asleep pondering what he said.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

The next day everyone awoke feeling much better. In no time they traveled the short distance to Konoha. As they walked up to the gates surrounding the village the ninja all breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're finally home," Naruto said.

Sakura nodded. It was good to be back, even if they weren't away for all that long it felt like it had been a month with all the things that had happened. She looked down at Akari who was standing beside her. She looked happy, but she also looked worried. She looked up at Sakura for support. Sakura smiled.

"You're going to like it here, I promise," Sakura said earning a smile from the little girl.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**I think Sakura's starting to figure out Kakashi. And what's going to happen to Akari? Holy crap, this is fun. I am so loving this. I hate to say it but… I know something you don't know! Hehehe… I am an evil genius. Guess who's coming in the next chapter… Please R&R!**


	10. Adopting Akari

**Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated sooner, but as I said I am back in school and you shouldn't expect me to update especially fast. I will try to update once a week, but we'll see how long that lasts. Okay quick sum up of the story till now, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi went on a mission to be bodyguards for a man called Takashi Hakane, but as it turns out Sasuke was sent by Orochimaru to kill the same man. He succeeded too. What he didn't expect was that his former teammates would show up. Akari was Takashi's granddaughter and was also living with him. Fortunately she survived and our favorite leaf shinobi decided to take her back with them. Now they have all finally returned back to Konoha… **

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Chapter 10: Adopting Akari

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Sakura woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. For once, Sasuke wasn't the first thing she thought about when she woke up. Actually, it was Akari who was on her mind. She had thought long and hard about what would happen to her little friend and she came to a decision that she would take her in herself.

She thought that it would be really nice for her and Akari, since the little girl seemed to like her. Sakura knew Akari didn't deserve to live by herself for the rest of her life. She would be the outcast, the one everyone else made fun of. Sakura had experienced that and she knew that Naruto had been alone for a good ten years of his life… with no parents or anyone. Basically, it sucked. No one should have to deal with that loneliness.

The only problem with that was getting Tsunade-sama to agree.

She ate a quick breakfast and was about to head out when she heard a knock on the door. She quickly went to answer it.

"Oh, hi Naruto," she said greeting her blond teammate at the door.

"Hey…Sakura…," he replied while breathing heavily.

"Did you run all the way here?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said and grinned.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So what's so important that you had to run all the way here and tell me?"

Naruto blinked.

"Oh, right. Granny Tsunade wants to see you. She told me to hurry, so I did."

"That's good. I was just about to go see her."

She turned around and locked the door. Naruto followed when she said good-bye and started to walk away.

"I'll come with you," he offered.

"Oh no, that's okay. You have more important business to attend to."

He gave her a blank stare. Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"You have a girlfriend, remember? I'm sure Hinata will want to see you."

"Oh, right. I said I would tell her when I got back…"

"And that was yesterday," Sakura finished.

"Right, I totally knew that. I'll see you at ten then?" he said and veered off in the opposite direction.

"Yep."

Whew. That was a close one. She had decided that she wouldn't tell Naruto or Kakashi-sensei until after she had adopted Akari. They would probably only discourage her and she didn't know if it was a possibility that Akari could come live with her. First, she would get permission and then tell her friends. No sense in giving herself false hope. She tried to think of what she would say as she headed to the hokage's office.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in," said a tired voice.

Sakura pushed open the double doors that led into the hokage's office and stepped inside. The hokage did not look up and greet her however; she was pouring a cup of sake from a small bottle on her desk.

Sakura could see why she needed it. There were also stacks of paper, piles of scrolls and other documents on the cramped desk. Tsunade was scribbling something on a piece of paper and didn't bother to look up when she spoke.

"Gai, I will look at your mission report later, but I'm busy right now. Just give it to Shizune and please leave," she said slightly annoyed and glared at her newcomer.

Sakura smirked amusedly at her teacher. How could she confuse her for Gai? That was weird. Tsunade quickly realized her mistake and changed her expression to a small smile and even chuckled a little.

"I apologize, Sakura. It's been a long day," she said tiredly.

Sakura nodded slowly.

"But it's not even ten-o-clock in the morning," she said confused.

"Exactly," Tsunade grumbled.

Sakura smiled and sat down in a chair near the desk. She turned to her sensei.

"What did you want to see me about?"

Tsunade sighed. She crossed her arms and observed her student carefully with a frown on her face. She didn't say anything for a long time.

"Um…sensei…What are you looking at?" Sakura said nervously, "Is something wrong?"

"Well, Kakashi handed me your mission report yesterday after you came back and I looked at it very carefully… Honestly, I'd thought you'd be an emotional wreck."

Sakura looked behind Tsunade, out the window.

"You know everything then?"

"I know that Sasuke Uchiha killed the man you, Naruto, and Kakashi were assigned to protect and that you successfully knocked him out before he and Naruto killed each other."

Sakura mentally breathed a sigh of relief and for once thanked her old sensei for being so secretive. She didn't want anyone else to know what had happened between her and Sasuke and she probably wouldn't tell anyone either.

"What I want to know, Sakura is, are you okay?" Tsunade asked snapping Sakura out of her thoughts.

"…I'm fine," she replied.

"Good. That's all I wanted to ask. You may leave."

Sakura clenched and unclenched her hands nervously.

"Um actually, Tsunade-sama, I also have an important question for you… and it's going to sound weird."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot," she said and turned her attention to a scroll.

Well, you remember Akari right? The little girl we brought back with us?"

"Yes," Tsunade said slowly, not quite sure where this was going.

"Well, I was wondering if she could come live with me."

Tsunade's head snapped up to focus her attention on her student again.

"Are you serious? That's a big job."

"I am perfectly serious, Tsunade-sama."

She looked her sensei straight in the eye and tried to keep from smiling.

"Okay."

"That's it?"

"Yep. I know you well enough to say that you are capable of this. Would you like me to say no?"

"Of course, not! I just thought it would take more convincing than that."

"Here."

Tsunade handed Sakura some documents that she filled out saying that she was now the legal guardian of Akari. It took her a while to read through everything and sign it, but it was a big stack of papers.

"Can I see her?"

Tsunade nodded. She called for Shizune and told her to retrieve the little girl. A few minutes later Shizune gently pushed in a nervous Akari. The little girl turned around and Shizune gave her thumbs up and then she closed the door. After she left, to Sakura and Tsunade's surprise, Akari turned to Tsunade and bowed low. Tsunade widened her eyes. No normal four year old would show that level of respect.

"My grandpa told me I should respect my elders," Akari said quietly.

Sakura smiled sadly. Akari noticed her just then sitting in the chair. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh, hi Sakura-chan!" she said happily.

"Hi, Akari," Sakura replied equally happy. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No. That nice lady just told me I was going to see the hokage," her eyes drifted over to Tsunade for a second, but then she looked back at Sakura.

"Oh."

Sakura looked at Tsunade for a little help, but Tsunade just raised her eyebrows, motioning for her to go on. Sakura got up out of her chair and walked over to Akari. She kneeled down in front of her. Akari watched her curiously.

"Akari, you're going to come live with me now. Is that okay?"

In response Sakura saw the hugest smile she had ever seen spread across the little girl's face. She jumped on Sakura and hugged her while laughing. Sakura actually fell over.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes," she said.

Tsunade smiled.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Naruto and Kakashi sat waiting on the grass for Sakura to arrive. She was really late. Yes, even Kakashi had showed up before her… that's how late she was. Naruto got up and started target practice to pass the time. He thought he might as well get something done.

"This is really unlike Sakura," Kakashi stated.

"Yeah. The last time I saw her was at around 9:30 this morning. She was going to see Granny Tsunade."

"About what?"

"I don't know. I told her to go to the hokage's office and she said that was good because she had to talk to Granny Tsunade about something too so then she left."

"I see."

Kakashi looked up and saw Sakura running toward them. _'Well, what do you know…'_

"Hi guys!" she yelled unexpectedly happily.

"Geez, Sakura it's about time," Naruto said with a frown on his face. "I still can't believe you're later than Kakashi-sensei!"

"Oh, uh, sorry. I was talking to Tsunade-sama."

"What were you talking about that was so important that you ended up being a whole hour late?" Naruto pressed.

Sakura got an oh-crap-I-can't-keep-this-a-secret look on her face.

"Well, I actually wanted to tell-"

"Wait a second," Kakashi interrupted.

Naruto and Sakura both looked at him with annoyed expressions.

"We aren't the only ones here," Kakashi said quietly.

They all heard a rustle in a nearby tree. Naruto and Sakura backed up a little, obviously expecting someone to jump out at them. Kakashi just sighed.

"Come out, Gai. I really don't have time for this today."

Right on cue none other than Maito Gai jumped out of the tree and landed in front of his "eternal rival" and gave him that weird smile with the sparkle thing.

"Hey there, Kakashi! I finally found you," he said triumphantly.

Naruto and Sakura sweat dropped. This guy was just too weird.

"What is it this time?" Kakashi asked with a bored expression.

"Well, I would challenge you, but the hokage wishes to see you at the hospital."

"What for?"

"I don't know," Gai's face turned from a smile to serious. "Apparently it's important."

"I guess I have no choice, then," Kakashi got up. "I'm sorry Naruto and Sakura, but training is cancelled for today."

"What?!" Naruto said in exasperation.

"We'll go extra long tomorrow," Kakashi said with a wave and started walking towards the hospital leaving his students and Gai with curious looks.

'_I hate hospitals. Why in the world would_ _she want me there? I hope I don't have to identify someone. Something tells me this isn't going to be easy…'_

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**When I said "Guess who's coming in the next chapter…" I lied. That person will be in the next one I promise. You'll notice than I will occasionally add the Japanese endings on some people names like Tsunade and Sakura, but I'm too lazy to do that all the time, so yeah. As you can see this chapter took me twice as long as it would have during the summer, but I will update asap. Please R&R!!**


	11. Happiness

**Hello, my faithful readers! The long awaited chapter 11 is here and I know the one question on all of your minds… who is the mystery person that I've been torturing you about?! Some of you may already know, but some of you still don't have a clue. So without any further wait, here's chapter 11!**

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Chapter 11:Happiness

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Kakashi walked down the hallway, trying to picture in his head the way the nurse at the front desk had told him to go. Even with all the times he had been in the hospital he still couldn't find his way around the place. There were too many identical white hallways. Finally, his good sense of direction led him to a hallway that looked exactly like all the other ones, except that the hokage was leaning against the wall next to one of the doors. To his surprise he saw Asuma and Kurenai there as well. They were all talking quietly.

"Yo," he said and waved.

All three of them immediately stopped talking and turned to the direction of his voice.

"What's going on?" he continued. "Gai just told me to come here and…"

He stopped when he saw the looks on their faces. They all looked… apprehensive. Like they didn't want to tell him something.

"I guess Gai couldn't do it then," Tsunade said.

"Okay, what's going on? Seriously, I think I can handle it." Kakashi said a little more urgently.

"Well…" Kurenai started.

"Is it Sasuke?"

"No…"

Kakashi mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just tell-"

"I think it's better if you just go and see yourself," Tsunade interrupted and opened the door next to her.

Kakashi closed his mouth and slowly entered the room. Tsunade followed behind him and shut the door.

It was like any normal hospital room. White walls with a bed along side one of them. At the bottom of the bed were several machines. One of them was a heart monitor giving out a steady beep….beep….beep. It was the person in the bed that caught his attention. She was badly hurt. One of her arms was broken as well as her foot. The arm that wasn't broken had an IV in it, pumping lost fluids back into her body. There were scratches on her face, arms, and legs too. He wondered why everyone was so worried about it. He didn't know this girl…

No, wait, maybe he did. He recognized her face…

'_Is this possible? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?'_

Her hair was longer now, it went a little down past her shoulders, and she was probably taller too. It was no wonder he didn't recognize her, she had changed a lot since the last time he saw her walking away from the gates of Konoha. Her face was the one thing he recognized about her, it hadn't seemed to change at all.

"Rin?"

He quickly walked over to the side of the bed, trying to see if his mind was playing tricks on him or not. He blinked a few times, but when he opened his eyes everything was the same. So he definitely wasn't dreaming…

He grabbed a nearby chair and sat down. This just couldn't be happening. He hadn't seen Rin in over ten years and now she just turns up? He glanced at the small table next to the bed. On it was her hitai-ate. He noticed there was no slash across the leaf symbol, not that he expected it, but that was still good. Something dropped to the floor as he picked up the headband. He bent over and retrieved it from the floor.

The silver charm bearing his name glittered brightly as the light hit it. He stared at it deep in thought and then returned both objects back to the table.

"Can you confirm who we think this person is?"

Kakashi jumped when he heard Tsunade's voice.

"Yes," he replied with no emotion.

"She has a broken arm and foot as well as many other minor injuries, but it shouldn't be hard to heal with chakra and time." Tsunade said trying to say something positive when she saw his expression.

He nodded stiffly.

"I think I'll go home now," Kakashi said and slowly got up and walked towards the door.

"Try not to worry too much. It only makes it worse."

"I know."

He shut the door behind him. Tsunade sighed.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi slowly walked down the streets, not knowing or caring where he was going. Soon enough he found that his feet were taking him to the memorial stone. He needed to talk to Obito.

"Hey, sensei!"

Out of the corner of his eye Kakashi saw Sakura walking towards him, smiling. What was she so happy about? She almost never smiles like that about anything anymore.

"I actually wanted to tell you and Naruto- Are you okay?" Sakura stopped in the middle of her sentence. "You don't look so good."

"Oh no, I'm fine," he said and forced a smile. "I'm just tired, long meeting." He knew it was a lie, but he himself was still trying to figure out what was going on. "I'm going to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

He started to walk away not towards his house, but to the memorial. Sakura watched him with a confused expression. She wasn't dumb, something was up. She tried to keep her mind off of it, but the curiosity was too much. She followed.

Kakashi reached the memorial and sat down before it.

"Obito, what the heck is going on? Why does fate do this to me? Can't it just leave me alone?"

No answer.

It was always that way. The dead couldn't talk just as the blind couldn't see. He knew that, but he kept trying anyway.

He couldn't figure out why he felt this way. He should be happy. Extremely happy, but it didn't work like that. It never did. Everything always had to be more complicated that it really was.

"Liar," a voice said quietly.

"Yes, I am aware of that. Why did you follow me?" Kakashi retorted.

Sakura sat down next to him with her legs crossed.

"Something is going on and I want to know."

"Do you realize you sound like you sound like you're still twelve years old?" he said bitterly

"Yes, but I stand by my question. Why did you really go to the hospital?"

"I'm still trying to make sense of all of it."

"Does that mean you aren't going to tell me?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes."

"Well, I'll find out eventually so I guess it doesn't matter. But since I'm here I might as well tell you something and you have to promise not to freak out."

"Okay… shoot," he said and listened intently.

"I adopted Akari."

Immediately, a million arguments formed in Kakashi's mind, but after really thinking about it he decided to keep them to himself.

"That's great," he said.

"Really? You're not going to argue with me at all?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Nope."

"Oh. Good."

"Just one question though. Why?"

"I think you picked the question with the longest answer," Sakura said. "If no one wanted her she would grow up alone. I didn't want that to happen. But even so it was probably more for my benefit than hers."

He cocked his head to one side to look at her.

"I wanted someone to look after and cheer me up and like me for who I am, like the little sister I never had. I know I have you and Naruto, but you aren't always there. It's weird, but even though I practically just met her, I love her. I suppose it's hard not to, though." She paused before adding: "You should have someone like that too."

She stood up and ran away.

"See you tomorrow!" she waved as she left.

He gave a quick wave back. Since when did she get so wise? Maybe she got that from him… Or not. He started walking towards his house. Either way she was right. He did need someone like that.

The happiness kicked in.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**A bit fluffy, don't you think? If you haven't read Kakashi Gaiden then you have no idea who Rin is. I highly suggest you do read it. Everything will make a lot more sense as Rin will now be included as one of the main characters in the story. Yay! A big thank you goes to all of you for being so patient. I've had a lot of tests and other school related stuff lately, so blame my teachers not me. You guys are great! Also if any of you are Harry Potter fans out there, check out Book One: The Door which I am co writing with Apo11o!! Here is the summary:**

**The year is 2022. Apollo is a 19 year old Auror. When he gets a special assignment from his boss things get unthinkably complicated. Can he and his friends defeat a new and possibly much more powerful organization than Voldemort? Please R&R! **

**Keep reading! **

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	12. Full Moon

**I can't believe this is chapter 12 already! Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. These next few chapters are going to be kind of like fillers, so I'm sorry for those of you who don't like that, but that's the way it is. You're going to be seeing more of Akari, I think. (I love writing about her, she's so cute!) And obviously Rin will be in the story more now too. Um, I think that's it, so on to chapter 12!**

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Chapter 12: Full Moon

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"Ow!" Naruto staggered away from Sakura, clutching the spot where she hit him on the head.

"Well, stop being so annoying!" she yelled at him.

Naruto had been in hyper mode all morning and finally Sakura couldn't take it anymore.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. _'It'll be a miracle if they make it to lunch without killing each other.' _

"Come on guys we're almost done for the day," Kakashi said tiredly.

"We are?" Naruto asked. "It's not even 11:00 yet."

"I've got to be somewhere and if I remember correctly, the academy gets out at 11:45 for lunch." He looked pointedly at Sakura reminding her that she had to go pick up Akari from school.

"I know, sensei," Sakura replied to his look.

They continued to train until 11:30 when Sakura left.

"See you later!" she called back when she started walking.

Naruto waved back. When he couldn't see her anymore he sat down and sighed. Kakashi noticed his student's sudden change in personality.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Did you ever wonder… if she isn't going to care about us anymore?"

Kakashi crossed his arms and looked at Naruto carefully. Naruto had only found out about Akari living with Sakura recently and, basically, he totally freaked out. Kakashi didn't blame him, he hadn't seen it coming either. It was kind of weird. She would have to leave training earlier now and probably wouldn't get as many missions, but saying she would forget about them was going a little too far.

"Naruto, do you actually think that Sakura wouldn't care about you anymore because of Akari? Sakura is your friend, more like your sister. Friends don't abandon each other. They stick with each other to the bitter end. I would have thought you, of all people, would know that by now."

Naruto was actually speechless. (That's a first.)

"Of course, how could I forget?" he said with a smile on his face. "I'll see you later, sensei!"

He jumped into the trees and disappeared.

Kakashi shook his head and chuckled to himself as he headed of in the opposite direction to the hospital.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi quietly entered the equally quiet hospital. Not much was happening today. He signed his name on the sheet on the reception desk and walked down the hall. Once again he wound his way through the complicated maze of white halls and eventually found the room Rin was in. He was about to open the door when the knob turned and a nurse stepped out of the room.

"Oh!" she said when she saw him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kakashi Hatake. Is this Rin Hayata's room?"

"Oh, yes. Tsunade-sama said you might be coming. Good timing, too. She just woke up."

"Really?" he said with a tiny hint of nervousness.

"Yes, you can go in, but she is still weak, so try not to get her excited or anything," she said as she left.

"Right. Thanks."

He couldn't believe how nervous he was. He was always so calm and collected… but not now.

He slowly turned the door knob and stepped in the room. He was greeted by the same white walls as before, but the window was open, letting in the fresh air and sunshine, giving the room a warm glow.

Rin still looked pretty beat up, but most of the cuts were healed. She was propped up in the bed with pillows and appeared to be sleeping. But he knew better.

"I know you're not sleeping. Faker," he said quietly, in case she really was asleep.

She opened one eye and saw her visitor. She apparently recognized him immediately. Now she looked at him with both eyes for a minute and retorted back.

"You haven't seen me in all this time and the first thing you do is call me a faker? Can't you say something else?" she said in a sarcastic voice. She might have been weak, but that didn't stop her personality. He pretended to think about what he was going to say while he looked at her.

"Hey, Rin," he said and smiled.

Her face lit up.

"Hey, Kashi-kun."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Sakura stood near the crowded academy entrance searching for Akari along with many other parents looking for their children. She looked around and glanced at the door every few seconds to see if she would come skipping out, run over to her, and hug her with a big smile on her face.

But she didn't.

"Where are you?" Sakura said to herself.

Then she spotted her swinging quietly on the tree swing in the shade. And she looked sad. She wasn't crying, but she was close to it. Sakura walked over to her.

"Hey, you. What's wrong?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"The other kids –sniff- don't like –sniff- me," she replied still not crying, but it looked like she would burst out in tears any minute. "They called me names –sniff- and laughed at me."

Sakura had a flashback of herself when she was little. She remembered the pain of loneliness all to well. It broke her hear to see Akari like this.

"I'm sorry. It's okay to cry you know," she replied gently.

"No, I can't cry!" she said even as tears streamed down her face. "My grandpa told me never to cry!"

Sakura didn't know what to say. _'She's gonna make me start crying.'_

"Let's go home, okay?" she said.

Akari nodded and wiped away the tears on her face. Sakura let her climb up on her back and carried her as they started walking back to her apartment.

"I miss you, grandpa," Akari murmured as she laid her head on Sakura's shoulder and fell asleep.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"You've changed," Kakashi said to Rin, attempting to make conversation.

"You…haven't really," she replied. "But I see you're not in ANBU anymore."

"Yeah, after you left, I didn't really have anyone close to me anymore, so it seemed kind of pointless. Besides, it messes up your head when you go on assassination after assassination."

Silence. Awkward silence.

"I suppose you want an explanation," she said while avoiding his eyes, looking out the window.

"… Not right now. Don't you want to know what has happened?"

"Like what?"

Kakashi pulled up a chair. This was going to take a while.

"Well," he started, "I'm sure you know that the third hokage died some time ago."

"Yes, but I don't know why."

"He was killed in a fight with Orochimaru."

She twitched at Orochimaru's name.

"His student? The one who left the village?"

"The one and only."

"That's too bad. Who's the hokage now?"

"Guess."

She gave him a questioning look. Maybe he had changed more than she thought. She didn't know if he was just being nice to her because she was in the hospital, or if he was actually like this all the time. He wasn't as…cold as he used to be.

"It isn't Jiraiya, is it?"

"Oh god, no," Kakashi replied with a scared look on his face.

"Just checking. Let's see…then it must be…um…I really don't know."

"There's one more legendary sannin."

"Tsunade?" Rin sat up quickly in surprise and winced from the strain on her muscles.

"Yes, she was here actually, now lay back down please, or I'll get in trouble," he pushed her back onto the bed, "The nurse told me not to get you excited.

"What else?" she asked.

"Do you remember Itachi Uchiha?"

"That cute little boy in the Uchiha clan? Of course!"

"Be prepared for what I'm about to say."

"Is he dead?" she asked.

"No, unfortunately. He is responsible for the death of the entire Uchiha clan."

"The entire clan… is dead?!"

"Yes, except for his little brother, Sasuke."

"Where is he?"

"He's currently working with Orochimaru. He thinks he can get stronger by working with him. He wants revenge."

He continued to tell her about the things that had happened with Konoha. He talked about how Orochimaru had attacked the village and interrupted the chunnin exams and the Akatsuki . She asked questions a lot and he answered. They talked for hours.

"Not too much good news around here," Rin remarked.

"Well, that's not true. There are good things. Do you remember Sakura Haruno?"

"Yeah, little Sakura. She had pink hair, I think," Rin smiled as she remembered.

"Yeah, that little girl is a 15 year old chunnin, now. Tsunade taught her herself." _'After me.' _He thought in his head.

"Wow, I wish I could have trained as Tsunade's apprentice. So, she's a medic then?"

"Yep. And…Oh yeah, Asuma and Kurenai got married."

"Well, no big surprise there. I could tell they liked each other when we were 14," she laughed. "Do you remember how they always kept glancing at each other and then when they got eye contact they would both look away. Kurenai's face would be red all over."

"Yeah, it was pretty obvious," he found himself laughing too.

"And what about you?"

"I'm…alright."

"Just alright?"

"My life could be better…It's a long story."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere."

Someone knocked on the door and soon after the nurse Kakashi had seen before came in. She was holding clipboard and some kind of medication.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave now. I've got to do some tests and I have some new medicine," she said.

"Sure," Kakashi said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rin."

"Okay. Goodnight, Kakashi."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Sakura was tired. After Akari woke up and she ate lunch, she felt better and wanted to go back to school. When they got to the academy Sakura talked to Iruka about how Akari was crying and getting picked on by the other kids. He told her he would try to help her when he could. Sakura had thanked him and left. She hoped Akari wouldn't come home like that again. She didn't think she could handle it.

Fortunately, it was nighttime now and Akari was in bed and sound asleep. She hadn't come home crying; in fact she had looked happy, much to Sakura's relief.

She decided to take a walk to get her thoughts straight. She closed the front door and locked it as she went out. It was dark out even though the sun had set only a half an hour ago. She could see the stars between patches of gray clouds. She started to walk down the street. She passed buildings with lights on inside illuminating the sidewalk here and there. No one besides her was walking down the streets. It was virtually empty.

Which made it dead silent.

She turned down a few streets and found herself walking down the only road that led out of Konoha. Pretty soon she came to the spot where the bench was that Sasuke had laid her down on after he had knocked her out and left Konoha for the last time. She sat down on the seat and tried to block out those thoughts. In fact, she noticed that tonight was exactly like that night had been, with the bright stars and the full yellow moon, except tonight there was no wind. She forced herself to not think about it as she stood up and started to walk back to her home.

And that's when she noticed, something wasn't right.

Her senses went on high alert all of the sudden. She felt uneasy. There was something wrong. She felt like…

She was being watched.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Yay! The plot is getting back on track!! Finally. I'm getting good at writing sad stuff. Who else besides me feels really bad for Akari? So depressing. For those of you who care, I know Hayata isn't Rin's real last name, I made it up. Anyways, school can go die in a hole because it doesn't give time to write!! Ahhh!! Well, now I've got to write my next chapter for my HP story or my friend will kill me. So no telling how long it will be until I update again. So gomen for that. **

**Thanks for your reviews and support, keep them coming!!!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	13. Memories

**Hey, everyone. I was finally able to get some writing done over the holidays. I hope you all had a nice Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever you celebrate. I got lots of shoes. There's a little time skip in this chapter. I thought I should try and fast forward a bit and start getting to the good stuff. Happy reading! Here's chapter 13!**

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Chapter 13: Memories

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Four days later

"Bye!" Akari shouted as she ran through the front doors of the academy with the other kids.

Sakura waved and set off down the street. Things had been going well lately. Akari was making new friends at school. Every once and a while someone would tease her or yell at her, but Akari would shake it off and ignore the person, or occasionally, yell back. Akari was strong. If people were going to mess with her she'd mess with them. Sakura had seen her do it. After school one day she had come out of class and a boy behind her was talking to her. Sakura couldn't hear what he said. She was about to go over there and stop him, but Akari turned around and jabbed him in the head. It must've been hard because he staggered back a little and then ran away. Sakura hadn't seen the boy bother her since.

She was walking down the street toward team seven's training area. It was a great day. The sun was shining, virtually no clouds, a slight breeze, what better weather could you ask for?

Except she had that feeling again.

Her senses went in overdrive. She tried to calm down. No one could be watching her in broad daylight. They would have been spotted for sure.

'_Relax, Sakura. Calm down. It's probably nothing.'_

But there was that word. Probably.

Then as quick as it had come it went away again. Completely gone.

She realized she was standing in the middle of the street looking stupid, so she started walking again.

"Sakura, are you okay?"

She turned around to see Naruto standing behind her. Like right behind her.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" she said.

"I asked if you were okay," he replied.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just got this weird feeling…"

"Like you're being watched?" Naruto said with surprise, "Me too."

"Okay, that's a little creepy. I was starting to think it was my imagination, but if you feel it too…"

"Creepy," Naruto finished.

"Yeah," she sighed, "c'mon let's go."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi showed up, late, as usual. The good thing about him always being late though was that Naruto and Sakura were already warmed up and they could start right away. They started with basic target practice and worked their way through the afternoon. After a couple hours they all sat in the shade of a tree and took a break. Not that Kakashi needed it, he wasn't doing much, but he decided to join his students anyway.

"How's Akari?" Naruto asked trying to make conversation.

"She's good," Sakura replied. "I saw her coming out of class the other day and there was a boy teasing her and she hit him in the head. Pretty hard too."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "Wow."

"Taking after you already?" Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

Sakura shot him a look. Kakashi smiled.

"Not that it's a bad thing," he added.

"Thank you," Sakura said and stood up. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye," Naruto and Kakashi said simultaneously.

After she was out of sight Naruto turned to Kakashi who was still reading.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you and me, one on one, I've still got some energy."

"You always have energy, Naruto, and you must have a lot of confidence too. There's no way you can beat me by yourself," Kakashi stated.

"Yeah, well, I'm bored," Naruto said.

"Sorry, Naruto, I have to go too. I'm sure you can find someone else to spar with."

And without waiting for an answer, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Rin walked around the streets of Konoha, admiring her surroundings. So many things seemed different, but at the same time they were the same. Busy people walked past her and in and out of the shops on either side of the street. She ventured into a few places she recognized. Of course no one recognized her, but for right now that was just fine. She didn't see anyone she knew, which was good because she didn't want to be seen. Not yet. But there was still one place she wanted to go…

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi arrived at the memorial stone shortly after he had left Naruto. He stood in front of it with his hands in his pockets. He wondered when Rin was going to get out of the hospital. He hadn't seen her in a few days due to a mission. Maybe she was even out of the hospital already.

"Hey," a voice said behind him. "I wondered if you would be here."

Before he could turn around she was standing next to him.

"I was just wondering if you were out of the hospital yet. You look much better."

"Yep," Rin said, "I'm all patched up. Not a single scratch left."

She smiled at him.

"Good. I'm glad," he said.

"Do you still come here a lot?"

"As often as I can."

"…I haven't been here in so long. It feels strange," she said while looking at the names carved in the stone.

He shuffled around in one of his pockets and pulled out an object. He studied it for a moment and then held it out to Rin.

"This is for you," he said, "I figured you'd want it more than me."

She looked up at the thing in his hand. It was something she thought for sure she'd never see again.

"Kakashi…I can't…"

"Yes, you can, I'm giving it to you," he said, "If you don't have it, it would be at my house collecting dust. I think he would want you to have it."

She bit her lip in frustration, but finally gave in and removed the pair of orange goggles from Kakashi's hand. They looked much smaller than they used to, she noticed, as she turned them around in her hands. She tried to wipe the lens clean with her sleeve. Clear as day, she saw Obito's face staring back at her through those goggles. She closed her eyes and tried to shake the bad memories from her mind, but everything came rushing back.

Kakashi stood next to her silently. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a teardrop fall to the ground, shortly followed by another and then another. Her hair obscured her face, probably so that he wouldn't see her crying. But he was smarter than that. He knew what she was thinking.

"It should have been me, Kakashi."

He said nothing and waited for her to go on.

"It should have been me to push you out of the way of that boulder. You know I would have done it in a heartbeat. Obito would still be alive…"

Her voice trailed away and she put a hand up to cover her eyes, so that he wouldn't see, to try and stop the tears. He could tell she was desperately trying not to sob and show him her weakness. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's alright, go ahead. You don't have to be tough for me," he said gently.

So she cried. Kakashi silently wondered how she made it out all by herself for so long.

"It's not your fault. If Obito heard you say that, what do you think he'd say? Probably something like: No way Rin-chan! It's not your fault! You actually saved me!" Kakashi said.

"How did I save him?" she asked through tears.

Kakashi removed his arm from her and tapped the metal plate over his left eye.

"He's still here, or at least I would like to think so. I hear him in my head sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…," she wiped away the tears from her eyes, "You hear him in your head?"

"Yeah, it's quite annoying actually."

"That's crazy," she said.

"Ha," he said, "If you think that's crazy, you should see my students."

She looked at him in complete surprise.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Serious about what?"

"You, Kakashi Hatake, are a teacher?" she pointed at him with disbelief on her face.

All of her sadness was gone. He had that effect on her for some reason. She just felt happy to be talking to him, to be with him.

"Yeah, I am. Is that so hard to believe?" he said somewhat defensively.

She smiled.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't even think it was possible," she started to walk away.

"What? Why?" he matched her stride and walked next to her.

She simply gave him a look that said you-know-exactly-why. It was like a weird power she had. One look was all she needed to convey her message. And she was right. He did know why. He had never been the kind of person to be a teacher. No one would have ever thought he was capable of that when he was younger. He was too strict, too impatient, and, in his mind, a total idiot because of it. But yet here he was, with still two students who had become great ninja because of him, with a little help from Jiraiya and Tsunade of course. Okay, a lot of help, but still.

"I never would have thought about it because I don't remember you being a particularly patient person and kids drive you nuts. You remember that one mission? We had to babysit of all things…"

"Don't remind me," he replied.

There she went again, reading his mind. He thought she must have a pretty good memory to be remembering all this stuff. They continued walking down the path in through the training area to the streets of Konoha. He enjoyed talking to her. And before he knew it…

"Do you wanna go get some ramen?" he asked.

She looked a bit surprised at first, not really knowing what to say.

"Kakashi, are you asking me out on a date?"

He was especially thankful for his mask right then because his cheeks turned red. He hadn't really meant it that way, had he?

"Well…I…uh…maybe."

She laughed a little bit at him for stumbling over his words.

"Sure," she said. "I'd love to."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**That's it for chapter 13. I think I've mentioned this before, but again thanks to everyone for being so patient. I am becoming more and more late on updating and I am sorry for that. Hope you enjoyed this and please review!!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	14. Another Medic Ninja

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Chapter 14: Another Medic Ninja

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Sakura and Naruto walked down the hallway with Kakashi following close behind them. All three of them were considerably tired, having been dragged out of bed at six in the morning. Even Naruto, who was nearly always excited, was yawning repeatedly. They had all woken up to pounding on the door by messengers, who told them the hokage wanted to see them. Apart from saying a quick "hi" when they met up, no one had said anything as they walked to the hokage's office.

"Why are we here again?" Sakura said to break the silence, "The messenger wouldn't tell me."

"Mission," Kakashi replied tiredly, short and to the point.

"It better be a good one," Naruto said, "Maybe an S rank. That's why we're up so early."

He continued rambling on and got himself more and more excited.

"Or what if-"

"Shh," Sakura put an arm out in front of him and they stopped.

They stood in front of the double doors to the hokage's office and listened intently. The echo of two voices could barely be heard through the solid doors. One was obviously Tsunade's, but Sakura couldn't place the other one. Having been Tsunade's apprentice, she knew a lot of people who had business with the hokage, but this was someone she didn't recognize. Judging by the look on his face, Naruto didn't either. Kakashi knocked on the door.

"Whoever it is you'll get to meet them soon," he said, "and you probably don't want the door to open while you're standing there with your ear to it, so stand up."

He tugged on Naruto's jacket to get him to stand up. Sakura also stood up and tried to put on a positive attitude.

Presently, Shizune opened the door and smiled at the three of them.

"Kakashi, Lady Tsunade would like to speak to you first and then all of you will be debriefed on your mission."

"All right. This will just take a minute," he said to Sakura and Naruto who both wore disappointed looks.

When the door shut behind him, Sakura said:

"Is it just me, or do you feel like we're being treated like little kids and the adults are talking about something important?"

"Yeah, and it's kinda pissing me off," Naruto said as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

They both looked at each other and then quickly put their ears to the door and listened in on the conversation.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi walked into the nicely furnished office and Shizune shut the door behind him. The room seemed dark, even with the lights on, from lack of sunlight. Out the window, the sun was slowly coming up, as if, like the rest of them, it didn't want it to be a new day just yet.

"Good morning, Kashi-kun."

He tore his gaze from the window and his eyes settled on Rin. She was wearing ninja attire now, a black sleeveless shirt like Sakura's, and shorts with the white apron that many female medical ninja wore. A standard pair of sandals that most Shinobi wore was on her feet and shin guards to protect her legs when she was running. Along with a shuriken holster on her leg, she wore a belt with a pouch attached to it containing medical supplies, he guessed. Right next to the pouch, on the belt, were Obito's goggles.

"Hey. Did you cut your hair?" he asked noticing that it was shorter, like how she used to wear it.

"Yeah," she replied, "I like it short."

"You look good," he complimented her.

He joined her standing in front of the hokage's desk.

"Thanks," Rin replied and turned to the person occupying the desk, "Now then, why are we here Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade swiveled around away from the window in her chair and folded her hands on the desk. She looked up at the two Shinobi in front of her.

"Kakashi, as of today, Rin will be a part of your team, not as a student of course, but until I think she is ready to carry out missions on her own again as a chunnin. Before either of you complain"- Kakashi and Rin both closed their mouths – "know that this will only be through the course of a few missions and obviously those won't be very dangerous ones."

Kakashi considered this plan to be not a good one, medics had to stay on the sidelines and help the injured when needed. If worst came to worst, he and Naruto alone would have trouble trying to protect both Rin and Sakura…

"I don't think-"

"Well, Kakashi if you don't want her on your team I suppose I can ask Gai…" Tsunade interrupted.

"No," both Rin and Kakashi said simultaneously.

Rin smiled and Kakashi scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been really embarrassed.

"I still think I could handle this on my own, but if the alternative is going with Gai then I guess I have no choice. I've been trying to avoid him," Rin said the last sentence rather quietly.

Kakashi sighed.

"Fine."

"It's settled then," Tsunade said, "Here is your mission, all of the information is on there. I would explain, but I am particularly busy today. Kakashi, you are dismissed. The four of you are to meet at the village gates in half an hour. Rin, I'd like to talk to you a while longer, please have a seat…"

Kakashi took the paper containing the details of the mission and with one last glance at Rin, left the room.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Tsunade began while looking through some paperwork.

Rin took a deep breath and started to tell her story. She looked at the hokage intently and said:

"What I am about to say should remain strictly confidential between you and me."

Tsunade had a feeling that the following conversation would be an important one and that Rin had said that to get her attention, so she put down the papers and focused on the young lady in front of her.

"Go on, I'm listening," the sannin said.

Rin contemplated what she was about to say and how she was going to say it.

"Have you ever heard of an organization known as the Akatsuki?"

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**It's a little short, but I realized that if I want this story to be over 20 chapters long I should probably slow down a little. Thanks for your reviews, they are greatly appreciated! **

**Random notes: I figured that Gai would be in the same class as Kakashi and Rin and that he would know Rin. And as we all know, Gai can be someone you want to stay away from, as he is extremely annoying. **

**Also I know nobody probably cares, but the "apron" that Rin wears is like Sakura's. You know that thing that she wears over her shorts. I didn't know what else to call it so ya, that's what it is.**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	15. Secret

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Chapter 15: Secret

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi stepped out of the hokage's office only to almost run into both of his students who were standing guiltily next to the door.

"Were you listening to the entire conversation?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, we tried," Naruto confessed.

"We couldn't hear much," Sakura added.

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes and gave the mission details to Sakura.

"Here," he said lazily, "That's our mission; we leave in half an hour.

Sakura's eyes quickly scanned the page.

"It's a scouting mission," she promptly said as the three of them walked back down the hallway, "Nothing really important, we just have to roam around in the forest for a couple of days looking for signs of enemies."

"The Akatsuki kind of enemies?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"No, sound ninja," Kakashi said, "Once again, Orochimaru is underestimating us by sending in his spies. Although, I have been feeling rather uneasy lately. The Akatsuki don't like to wait. It's been too long since they've done anything."

"So when do we leave?" Naruto asked, ignoring all words said except 'sound ninja' and 'Akatsuki'.

"Half an hour," Kakashi sighed.

"Who else were you talking to?" Sakura asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh you'll see," he said as he pushed open the door and started walking out into the street. "Remember, half an hour. Meet by the village gates." And with a quick wave he disappeared into a swirl of leaves.

"What could he be hiding?" Sakura said, half to herself.

"Beats me," Naruto said, "but we'll find out. See ya later."

He waved and went off to his apartment to pack his things. Sakura lingered for a moment trying to figure out this latest mystery. She decided not to worry about it and not stick her nose into things that she shouldn't know. Besides she learned over the years that her sensei was impossible to figure out.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Tsunade's eyes widened when she heard the deadly organization's name. She sighed.

"I'm very familiar with it, unfortunately."

Rin nodded and continued. She had many questions about that particular subject, but she would save them for after her explanation.

"When I left Konoha I was 14 and had recently become a chunnin. I left on my first solo mission to a little town where a strange disease was going around. I quickly identified the sickness and made an antidote, which was administered to all those who were sick. When my mission was completed, I was eager to get back home and see my friends. I was ignorant and I didn't notice that I was being followed until I got about halfway back. When I figured out I was being followed, I also realized that the person was a ninja, as they were following me in the trees."

She paused to take a breath and compose her thoughts.

"I stopped and told whoever it was to go away, or tell me why they were there. I blinked and suddenly there was a person standing on the tree limb in front of me…

**FLASHBACK –** Rin's P.O.V.

Whoever was following me would have to be crazy if they thought I wouldn't notice them. They were so bad at hiding their chakra while following me; I could have sensed it a mile away.

'_This is getting ridiculous.'_ I thought.

I slowed down a little and landed on the tree branch in front of me. My feet made a soft thud as they hit the bark.

"I know you're there. Either tell me what you want or go back to where you came from," I said confidently as I turned around.

However, I only sounded confident. I had been practicing what I would say for ten minutes. When it came to confidence, I was way below average. I scanned the surrounding trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stalker.

I blinked and a dark figure stood before me in the shadows of the trees.

'_So fast…'_

I stood up straight and tried not to act surprised. My hand automatically inched toward the shuriken holder on my leg.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?"

The stranger did not respond. He only looked at me with ambitious eyes, seemingly examining me, searching for something. He suddenly looked straight into my eyes and felt a shiver run through my body.

"Yes, it is you…the last member of the Hayata clan…You have the power," he said in a raspy voice. "The Akatsuki want it…and we will have it."

His words flowed through me like poison. He knew who I was and what I could do. But that was impossible, no one knew except me.

Then I knew why he couldn't hide his chakra so well, it was huge. There was so much power. I suddenly realized that if I didn't get away…

He'd kill me.

**END FLASHBACK**

Tsunade listened and tried to comprehend as the medic in front of her told her story. Apparently, she had run into the Akatsuki long before anyone else but Jiraiya knew who they were. The organization had probably been pretty small back then. Most likely they were only half of what they are now. The only thing she didn't understand was why they would want Rin. For some sort of power…

"So you confronted this person without knowing who he was?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, that's correct."

"And why would the Akatsuki hunt you?"

"I..."

This was a secret that she'd kept for so long. If the wrong people found out, as she'd already noticed, it could mean her death. She'd never told anyone, not even her closest friends. And this was the hokage, who was probably one of the worst people to know. She looked away in frustration. As if reading her mind, the sannin said:

"Rin whatever it is, I can promise you that no harm will come to you through me." Tsunade said calmly.

She looked up again in surprise. How could she promise when she didn't even know? Her expression turned suspicious.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" she asked firmly.

Tsunade raised her eyebrows slightly. With her authority as hokage no one usually questioned her promises. She quickly covered her surprised and resumed her normal expression. _'She doesn't trust anyone. When you learn to look out for yourself and yourself only, you learn not to trust people so easily, I guess. But still, this must be some secret if she can't rely on the hokage with it.'_

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair, "However, I can only give you my word, but if that is not enough there is nothing I can do."

Rin pondered the gondaime's words. She seemed to be telling the truth, but if she wasn't… _'Stop second guessing yourself. This is the hokage for god's sake. If she was a liar, people would know. It's not like I have much left to lose anyway.'_

"Alright," she said, "I believe you."

Suddenly, Tsunade raised her hand telling her to stop and slowly turned her gaze to the nearest of the surrounding windows. A slight scuffling noise could be heard outside. Rin tensed. Someone was listening in on the conversation. Then Tsunade put her hand down and rolled her eyes.

"Did you think I wouldn't catch you… Jiraiya?"

Said person slowly revealed his head in the window. He was hanging upside down and wore a sheepish grin on his face.

"Well, I hoped you wouldn't, but apparently I need to conceal myself better," he said, withdrawing his head and dropping onto the windowsill and into the room. He shut the window behind him and turned to the two kunoichi.

"Jiraiya-sama…" Rin said in surprise.

"It's good to see you too, Rin… Wow, you've changed a lot," he added.

"Yeah."

Like Kakashi, Rin had known Jiraiya probably since the yondaime had become her sensei, as Jiraiya was his sensei. They were friends, and Rin decided that she could trust him as well.

"By the way, Tsunade," he turned to his former teammate, "I wasn't up there spying; really, I was only up there for a few minutes. I finished the mission, and there's some interesting information you might want to—"

"We'll discuss it later. As you can see I have some important business to attend to," she gestured at Rin, "so if you don't mind, I'll ask you to leave."

Jiraiya frowned, but he didn't argue, Tsunade didn't look like she was in a good mood. Not that she ever was. He started to walk to the door.

"No, actually, I'd like you to stay and hear this as well, Jiraiya-sama," Rin said. "Either or both of you might know something about it and I want some answers, so two is better than one."

Jiraiya stopped and turned around.

"The curiosity is overwhelming," he said, "I'll listen."

"Alright, then. Both of you are sworn to secrecy from here on out."

Jiraiya and Tsunade nodded and she finally began.

"Apparently, long ago, there was a Hayata clan, and this clan was quite powerful, strong enough to be compared to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. However, not many people outside of the Hayata clan knew of its existence. The reason behind this secrecy was that the clan held an amazing and terrifying power. Many were ninja, and employed this power for their use on the battlefield, though they did not let their comrades know of it. Over time, the clan began to weaken and fade away. The clan was falling fast and if they didn't do something about it, they would be totally extinct. So, they revealed their secret, to the rest of Konoha. Once the other villagers learned of this power that the clan possessed, they were terrified of it. Instead of helping them, they betrayed the Hayata clan because of something they couldn't control."

She stopped and waited for them to process the information. It was a lot to get one's mind around. History had no record of this event, after all, no one ever spoke of it and so, it was forgotten.

Jiraiya said, "What do you mean by betrayed?"

"They were killed. All of them. Except the one's that escaped. You could probably count them on one hand," she replied emotionlessly.

"How long ago was this?" Tsunade asked.

"At the time, the second hokage had just been appointed."

"So what was this mysterious power?" Jiraiya asked the question before Tsunade could.

Rin began the hardest part of her explanation, both verbally and emotionally.

She said, "It was a kekkei genkai, obviously, as the whole clan was able to do it. The only one's who really used it often though, were the shinobi. They could take chakra from any living thing and add it to their own. They could manipulate it inside people. Extinguish a life in a matter of seconds, the ultimate assassination technique. As far as I know, I am the last living descendant of this clan, my clan, and I have that ability."

No one spoke for several minutes. Rin didn't blame them; it was a lot to take in.

Finally Tsunade spoke, "So, theoretically, you could drain our chakra and take it for yourself right now."

"Yes," she said, "Technically, I could kill you both if I wanted to. It would take me about 30 seconds. The technique does require a substantial amount of chakra, but since the user regains that chakra almost as soon as he uses it, it doesn't really matter."

"Why does no one else know of this mysterious clan?" Jiraiya asked. "I'm sure someone else out there must know about it."

"Well, the clan wasn't very big to begin with, and like I said, they kept it a secret. The only person who I can think of that might possibly have known was the Sandaime, but as I recently found out, he is no longer with us."

"Could you show us?" the hokage asked.

Rin thought about it, she really did. The fact was that she wasn't able to completely control it just yet, and if she tried something could go wrong. She could end up hurting one of them. She sighed, getting tired of explaining.

"No, I can't. I am close, but I don't have complete control of it yet. I don't want anything to go wrong. I was actually wondering if either of you knew anything about it. If you've heard of anyone else like me, or anything about my clan, please tell me."

That was the trade off. She told her secret, but at least she might get some answers.

"I am afraid not," Jiraiya said, "I've been many places, but I've never heard of your clan."

She looked to Tsunade, who shook her head. Rin sighed again in exasperation.

"Well, thank you for listening, anyways. And for understanding. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a mission shortly."

She stood up and smiled at the two of them.

"Rin…" Jiraiya said.

"Yes?"

"Have you told anyone else at all?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell Kakashi?"

She was a little taken aback by the question. Kakashi was her trusted friend, one of the only people she trusted, but she didn't know what he would say…

"I don't know."

With those words, she quickly left the office, not wanting to discuss it any more than she had to.

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**Well, I bet you weren't expecting that. Once again I wrote another long boring chapter. I know you're all like, "When's the plot coming in here?!" Yeah, I know it's a bit thrown off from the story line and I'm getting way into KakashixRin and not SakuraxSasuke, but I promise the next chapter will have a lot more of Sakura in it. I also apologize for the WAY late update, but as of about a month ago, my life just got more complicated, and I'm really sick, so I haven't had much time to update. I will never give up on this story even though it might be 1-2 months until I update next. Thank you for your reviews and support and keep them coming!!**


	16. More Questions, No Answers

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**Hey everyone, I know it's been really long, so here's my excuse. A few months ago I was diagnosed with Crone's disease. If you know what it is, great, you know what I'm going through then, if not, well, you don't want to know. Anyways, I haven't been feeling the greatest and I am unusually exhausted by the end of most days. I will continue to update as fast as possible, however that could mean a long time. Again, I thank you for your patience. Enjoy chapter 16!**

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Chapter 16: More Questions, No Answers

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"When's our mystery teammate gonna show up?" Naruto asked, "I'm getting bored."

Sakura wanted to yell at him, but she was getting impatient too. The day was wasting away and not only was Kakashi not there, but neither was the new person, whoever they were.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Sakura reasoned.

"She," Kakashi corrected appearing out of nowhere next to Sakura.

Sakura didn't flinch. She was used to his unexpected arrivals by now. He used to make her jump every time. She saw the slight frown on his face when she didn't react to him and inwardly smirked.

"A girl?!" Naruto said, "Isn't one enough?"

"Apparently not," Kakashi said.

Suddenly, Sakura felt this day might be a little more promising.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Rin walked down the street, shouldering her pack and running over in her head what she was going to say to her "new teammates". She rounded a corner and saw the gates of Konoha looming up ahead of her. She saw Kakashi wave her over and confidently strode towards the three people waiting at the giant doors.

'_This should be interesting.'_

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Sakura watched the woman walking towards them closely. She looked nice enough. In fact, she looked like a medic, judging from what she was wearing. Her spirits lifted even more. Finally, somebody she could talk to about what she knew and did for the team.

Kakashi waved and she strode toward them at a faster pace.

'_I guess they know each other.'_ Sakura thought.

Kakashi walked a few steps forward said something to the newcomer. They talked for a few seconds, keeping their voices down. She rolled her eyes at him at one point Sakura noticed. She smiled, they were friends then. No one in their right mind would roll their eyes at Kakashi if they didn't really know him. As a stranger he was kind of intimidating, Sakura remembered. Probably the only person who wasn't slightly scared of him back when team 7 first met was Sasuke…

Sakura caught herself daydreaming and pushed the memories out of her head. Now was not the time to be spaced out. Naruto lazily looked at her, the expression on his face clearly showing boredom. She shrugged and the two adults walked back to join them.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Rin noticed Kakashi walked toward her and stopped, waiting for him.

"What?" she said as he came closer. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Kakashi said. "I just wanted to warn you…"

"Warn me? Why?" Rin said a little quieter this time.

"Well, I can pretty much guarantee you that you're going to be surprised."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle this, Kakashi," Rin said, rolling her eyes, "I'm not an idiot."

"I didn't say you were," he replied coolly.

"Good, then let's go," she walked around him towards the gates. Kakashi sighed and followed.

The girl stood closer to her a little in front of the boy. Immediately she noticed that there was no third team member and wonder if he had died, like Obito. Her hand absentmindedly twitched toward the goggles on her belt. She pushed that thought out of her head quickly.

Kakashi came up from behind and walked beside her. The pink-haired girl smiled at her. Pink hair… That was vaguely familiar…

'_Oh my god.'_

"Hello, I'm Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you," the younger medic said when Rin stopped in front of her.

A flicker of surprise crossed her face, but she replaced it just as quickly with a smile.

Rin couldn't believe this was Sakura. She had _babysitted _for her for god sake's. It made her feel kinda old.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Rin."

The boy jumped out from behind Sakura to stand next to her.

"And I'm-", he started.

In a heartbeat Rin felt her smile fall.

"Naruto," Rin whispered.

The shock was clear on her face. Both Naruto and Sakura looked puzzled, but Kakashi just stood there, observing quietly.

"Wait a minute, how do you know my name?" Naruto asked rather loudly. "Have I met you before?"

He screwed up his face in concentration. It made him look like a little kid.

'_That would be his mother's personality. His mother's personality and his father's looks. Not a bad combination.'_ Rin thought.

Without realizing it, she started to smile again.

"Why are you smiling? And how do you know my name?" Naruto persisted a bit annoyingly.

Rin observed him for a moment. Spiky blond hair, blue eyes, vacant expression. She would bet he was an excellent Shinobi too. She put a hand on his head. He blinked, surprised at the gesture.

"In answer to your question, yes, you have met me before, a very, very long time ago," she said, "and as to how I know your name… let's just say I would recognize that hair just about anywhere."

'_Clever answer.'_ Kakashi thought.

Rin removed her hand from Naruto and looked over her shoulder at the jounin.

"Shouldn't we get going?" she said.

She raised her eyebrows for emphasis as if saying 'let's go, I want to end this conversation.'

"Yeah," Kakashi replied, "We should."

He knocked on the large door and it began to open from the outside. It swung surprisingly fast for such a large thing. Then the four of them stood facing the path and trees that awaited them beyond the wall.

"Alright let's go!" Naruto shouted and started walking at a fast pace.

Sakura, Kakashi, and Rin wordlessly followed him, Rin chuckling at his hyperness.

Sakura stole a glance at the other medic. As soon as she had learned her name, bells went off in her head, telling her that was impossible. She was supposed to be dead. It definitely explained why Kakashi had been disappearing lately and why he was acting weirder than usual. After she got past the shock, Sakura had a good first impression of her new teammate. But with her she just brought more mysteries. Sakura sighed. Would the confusion never end?

'_Probably not.'_ She thought.

"C'mon, you guys are slow!" Naruto shouted from some distance ahead of her.

"You're just too fast, idiot." Sakura shouted back.

For the time being, Sakura decided to put all of the questions out of her head and concentrate on the road ahead of her. As soon as this mission was over, Kakashi-sensei would have some explaining to do.

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**Yay this chapter is done!! Woo!! Now I have to start the next one. Having a bit of writer's block here. Bleh. Oh well. I'm sure I'll think of something. **


	17. Surprise Attack

Hello my faithful readers

**Hello my faithful readers! Yet another most likely rather boring chapter on my part. However, there is some Sasuke in this chapter. Yay! He's so fun to write about, with that weird personality of his. Here's chapter 17.**

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Chapter 17: Surprise Attack

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On the outside, Rin was all smiles. And she was happy. The last time she had been with real friends had been god knows how long ago. But on the inside a little bell had went off in her head telling her to get back to Konoha, where it was safe. All the years she had spent out of the village by herself had taught her an important lesson: never put down your guard. Not for a second. Because the second you did, you would be killed. Or worse. But what could be worse that dying, right? She could think of a few things.

"Hello, anybody there?" Kakashi's voice broke through the fog in her brain.

"What? Is something wrong?" Rin shook herself out of her stupor.

"No, you just blanked out for a minute. I was asking you what you thought," he explained.

"About what?" she said.

"Those two kids up there," Kakashi said, nodding his head toward Sakura and Naruto.

"Oh right."

Rin looked ahead at the younger Shinobi. She did a double take when she looked at Naruto.

"God, he looks just like sensei," she said.

"Yeah, I know. Weird isn't it?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah."

He smiled a little. Up ahead Naruto was waving impatiently signaling to hurry up.

"Slow down Naruto! Remember, this is a scouting mission, not a race!" Kakashi called. "However," he added, seemingly to himself, "we should probably catch up to him before he gets too far ahead."

Rin smiled mischievously.

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll race you."

He blinked in surprise. Rin had never been one for competition.

"Well, that's an interesting proposition."

"Don't try to act smart; it doesn't work," she said. "Are you in or out?"

"Well, since backing out would make me seem afraid, I guess I'm in."

'_What's she playing at? I was always faster. I was the fastest on our team. Has she gotten better?'_ He thought, but refrained from asking.

"Alright, then three, two, one… go!"

Simultaneously, they jumped into different trees, realizing that jumping would faster that running. Rin poured on the speed, jumping from tree to tree, branch to branch. She kept Kakashi in her sight. He was just barely a few feet ahead of her.

'_Faster... I need to go faster.'_ She thought.

Kakashi was surprised to see Rin closing the small gap between them. She saw him looking at her, smiled, and jumped down out of sight. He then realized that they had caught up to his students and slowed down and dropped from his tree as well. She had won. He was going to hear about this later.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Sasuke collapsed at the base of the tree, exhausted. He was finally completely convinced they had lost him and let his body relax. He had finally escaped that place. He would never go back again either, never again. The main question was: Where would he go now? He knew he couldn't go back to Konoha, that was for sure.

His breathing became easier. He must have been running for half a day at least. He longed to close his eyes and sleep, but he had to keep watch. Even if he thought he was safe that was no guarantee they wouldn't find him. Under normal circumstances, he would be able to kill them easily. There were twelve following him and he had fought more before. But the circumstances were hardly normal. He was injured from his previous fight and, as mentioned earlier, exhausted. Not a good combo.

He winced as he felt a sharp pain stab through his left arm. He casually looked down at it and saw blood oozing through the large gash. He tore some fabric off of his sleeve and tied it around the wound to stop the bleeding.

'_Now would be an excellent time to know some healing jutsu.'_ He thought and gritted his teeth as another wave of pain shot down his arm. Other cuts and bruises adorned his body as well.

'_Well isn't this an excellent position to be in.'_

But despite all of his problems, he smiled.

Because Orochimaru was dead.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Sakura wondered how Akari was doing back in Konoha. She had gone to stay with the Hyuga clan for a while. Hinata had heard about their mission through Naruto and had offered to take Akari while they were gone. Of course Sakura was sure that Akari was having a great time, but she wondered anyway.

Naruto was walking next to her, happy as can be. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see where the rest of their team was… when Rin dropped down right behind her.

"Ahhh!" Sakura gave a startled shout.

"Oh! Sorry, Sakura. Did I scare you?" Rin asked, noticing that she had almost landed on top of the younger ninja.

"No, no I'm fine," she answered quickly.

Kakashi and Naruto stood in front of them, also talking.

"I beat you!" Rin said mockingly and pointed at Kakashi.

"You what?" Naruto said in a confused voice.

"Nothing," Kakashi said, "I wasn't going all out anyway." He muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Rin replied.

Naruto looked at Sakura for an explanation. She shrugged and they all continued walking. The sun was getting lower in the sky; Sakura guessed they would be stopping soon.

"What are we going to eat?" Naruto asked.

'_Typical Naruto, always thinking with his stomach.'_

"We'll find something," Kakashi said, knowing where the conversation was going to go.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, Naruto…"

Sakura tuned out the rest of the conversation and moved to walk next to Rin, who was behind the front line away from everyone else, keeping to herself, though Sakura could tell she was listening to the guys talking.

"So," Sakura said, matching the pace of the older medic, "How long have you known Kakashi-sensei?"

Rin chuckled.

"You don't waste any time, do you? We were… friends a long time ago."

"Oh, I see," Sakura said even though she didn't really.

"I here you're quite the medic ninja, Sakura," Rin said.

Sakura glanced at her and shrugged one shoulder.

"I guess," she said, "I'll never be as good as my sensei though."

"Tsunade?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Kakashi told me a lot of things while I was in the hospital. A lot of people have changed, but Konoha is still the same village I remember."

Sakura nodded. There was a lot of truth in that statement for her too.

"What about you? You're a medic. Who did you learn from?" Sakura asked.

"My mother taught me," she smiled, "She was a good teacher, I learned a lot from her."

"Oh. That must have been nice. Neither of my parents are ninja."

Suddenly, Sakura felt a chill run down her spine and her senses became instantly alert. She was being watched again.

But it wasn't the same person this time.

"Kakashi, D and C!" Sakura heard Rin yell.

Rin grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her down to the ground hard. Kakashi did the same to Naruto in front of them. About 20 milliseconds later 50 shuriken whizzed over their heads from all directions and imbedded themselves in the ground around them. Sakura felt one of them cut her leg. She instinctively knew that all hell was about to break loose.

'_Well, shit.'_

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**Whoo! Another chapter done! And it didn't take me 2 months this time! PLEASE REVIEW!! I only got one review for the last chapter and it made me sad. ( So thank you to catgirl9696 for being my one reviewer! You're awesome! Yeah okay about the chapter, I don't know how Sasuke kills Orochimaru, I just know that he does and I didn't want to write a fight scene and then have people complaining because it's different from the manga. And I'm lazy, so peace. I almost forgot about Akari, so I decided to mention her. Also, with the whole race thing, ehh, idk, it just sounded like fun to write when I thought of it. So then, until next time…**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	18. Plan

Hey peoples

**Hey peoples. Action packed chapter here. Kinda. I don't know really, you decide. Enjoy chapter 18! (Holy crap it's chapter 18 already?!)**

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Chapter 18: Plan

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All around them at least a dozen ninja appeared out of nowhere. Next to her, Sakura heard Rin whisper to her.

"Show me what you can do, Sakura."

Sakura turned to look at her, but she had disappeared into a poof of smoke.

'_Alright, then.'_

She snapped to attention and jumped up as quickly as possible. She drew back her fist and with all of her might, punched the ground beneath her. The surrounding earth for at least 10 feet completely crumpled. Rocks and dirt jerked violently, almost like a mini earthquake.

Most of the ninja were disoriented if they hadn't fallen because of the shifting ground. Sakura quickly took stock of the scene around her. There was no sight of her teammates anywhere; they probably were waiting to attack from the shadows.

'_Sound ninja.'_ Sakura noticed without much surprise.

A kunai skimmed her ear and lodged itself in a tree behind her with a resounding thunk. Oh, yeah, they were disoriented, not dead.

"Be careful, Sakura!" Naruto yelled as he jumped out of a tree a ways to her left.

"I will," she said as Naruto shouted.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

At least twenty clones materialized in the air and came crashing down on the enemy ninja. By now most of the Shinobi had recovered and had anticipated the attack. Some of them took out weapons and fought the clones but most of them scattered into the surrounding trees.

Which was the plan of course.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Kakashi wondered where Rin was as the battle got underway. He hoped she was ready for this. He surveyed the scene below him. The trap seemed to be working well. The ninja were scattering, as predicted. There were a few smart ones, of course. Naruto was taking care of them though. He jumped down from his perch, landing on an unsuspecting sound ninja. He heard something break. He quickly and silently slit the shinobi's throat. All around him more ninja were closing in on him. In the blink of an eye he disappeared, leaving the dead ninja.

One of the sound ninja opened his mouth to tell his comrades to get away, but he never got the words out of his mouth.

BOOM!

Several paper bombs exploded where Kakashi had been standing. The sound nin never had a chance.

Standing in a tree several yards away, Kakashi inspected the damage. He heard a rustle behind him. A kunai sliced deep into his right arm.

"Ah-" he quickly closed his mouth and stifled his shout.

He jumped up a branch to avoid more sharp weapons heading his way and threw the few remaining shuriken he had in the direction the kunai had come from. He guessed he must have hit his target judging from the yell the person gave. Without checking to see whether the ninja was dead, he turned to the opposite direction and, clutching his upper arm, ran back towards the road.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Rin hurriedly performed the hand signs for the familiar jutsu as the unaware Shinobi came blindly into her trap. She took a deep breath.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Did she have to shout the name of the jutsu? No, it helped sometimes to feel in control of it, but she thought she would just for the heck of it anyway. And to scare the sound ninja out of their pants.

The three idiots that had stupidly run toward her were lying on the ground, burned and broken. She ignored the smell of burning flesh and sharply turned around as a few shuriken whizzed past her head. She whipped out a kunai from her holster just in time to block another one in the hand of a ninja behind her. He was barely six inches away from her, trying to gain leverage. He was wearing a mask. All she could see were his black eyes. Thinking quickly, she ducked down and swiped his legs out from under him. Before she could get to it, a kunai hit his heart killing him in seconds. She looked to the direction from where it came.

"Come on, Naruto and I got the rest of them," Kakashi yelled down from the bough he was standing on.

"Right," Rin said and walked back the short distance to the road.

On the side of the road Sakura was healing a cut on Naruto's face. She held her hand on his cheek and sealed the skin closed; leaving no trace that it had ever been there. Bodies lie in various places on the road, staring blankly up at the sky, or if they weren't so lucky, down in the dirt. Rin tried to focus on the living people.

"Everyone alive?" Kakashi asked as he and Rin walked up to Naruto and Sakura.

"Barely, as usual," Naruto said in a slightly tired voice and slowly got to his feet. "I'm alright now Sakura, thanks."

Sakura grabbed his arm as he wobbled a little bit.

"Not really, you took a pretty hard hit to the head. I'm afraid you might have a concussion," she said.

She looked up at Rin and Kakashi and rolled her eyes. Then she saw her sensei's arm bleeding freely.

"What happened to you?" she inquired.

Rin looked at Kakashi. He had a huge gash on his arm and the surrounding fabric of his shirt was soaked in blood. She grimaced. That was definitely not good.

Sakura moved to heal him, but he held out his hand.

"I'm fine for the time being. Our first priority is to get out of here."

Sakura hesitated and then reluctantly backed away and nodded.

Rin opened the pouch on her belt and took out a roll of bandages. She ripped a length off and wrapped it around Kakashi's wound tightly.

"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.

"Are you lightheaded?"

"No."

"Well you're going to be if you lose much more blood. You passing out would not help this situation at all," she said coolly.

She tied the bandage tightly, but so that it didn't hurt him in any way. She still had a medic's hands: strong, but gentle.

"How are you, Naruto?" Rin asked the blonde. "Can you run?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Naruto said cheerfully.

'_That must be the Nine Tail's chakra at work. He's already almost completely back to normal.'_ She thought.

"Alright, let's go," Kakashi said and took off down the road.

"Right!" Naruto said and followed.

Rin looked around for Sakura. She saw her moving the last of the dead guys off of the road. Eew.

"C'mon Sakura, let's move."

"I'm coming."

She ran over to the older ninja and they both chased after the boys. As they were running Sakura started a conversation.

"I was wondering," she began, "what does D and C mean? I mean you said it and Kakashi-sensei seemed to know exactly what you were talking about."

Rin smiled a little.

"That's an interesting question. It means duck and cover. We used to go on missions together a lot. We came up with a few sayings so that we could communicate to each other quickly, if needed, and the enemy would have no idea what we were saying. Some are really simple, like U and A means up and away, but some sound like a totally different language. Kakashi thought of it, actually. He probably thought it would make it easier for him to save me all the time."

"Save you?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say I wasn't the most gifted ninja ever. I was a medic, so I wasn't fighting much in the first place and it didn't help that I got scared easily and fooled easily. For a long time I just felt like a tag along, like I wasn't helping my team at all."

Sakura nodded. She knew that feeling well.

Rin continued, "But I'm better now, stronger. I've trained myself so that I won't need to be saved. And the best part is…"

Sakura glanced at her. Rin grinned micheviously.

"He has no idea."

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

**Yay! Another chapter finished! The next time I will update will be after school gets out so about 1 and a half to 2 weeks. Maybe more, I haven't decided. A huge Happy Vacation to everyone!! Thanks to the people who reviewed, your support is greatly appreciated. Please continue to do so!! Soon we'll see what kind of bad ass attacks Rin has up her sleeve…**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	19. Worried

**Yeah, I still don't know where this story is going… sigh I am confused as to how I'm going to get the whole kidnapping thing in there… well I do, but I don't know how to lead up to it I guess… idk. For now I came up with this little scene. More talking. hehheh. Enjoy chapter 19!!**

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Chapter 19: Worried

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"What is it now?" Tsunade asked tiredly from her office as she heard a rap on the door.

"It's me," a deeper voice answered.

"Come in."

Jiraiya entered the room and clopped up to the desk. Wooden sandals made quite a lot of noise on a hard floor. He frowned down at Tsunade who continued to read the scroll in front of her as he came in.

"Well, you kept putting me off from telling you something important, so would you at least look at me while I talk?" Jiraiya stated in a somewhat annoyed tone.

Tsunade sighed, leaned her head on one hand, and looked up at the pervy sage.

"What?" she said, eyes half-closed.

"The other day, when Rin was here, I had actually come straight here to tell you that the Akatsuki is in the Land of Fire," he crossed his arms for emphasis.

Tsunade narrowed her eyebrows and sat up straighter in her seat.

"How did you find out?"

"I was on my way back. I passed through one of the small villages. A man recognized who I was and told me that some strange people wearing black cloaks with red clouds had passed through there not long before. He said they were looking for someone, but didn't talk to many people. Most of the villagers tried to avoid them, understandably."

"I see. Who do you think they're looking for?" she asked casually.

"You already know that." Jiraiya said, looking out at the purplish sky.

"I'll send a message first thing tomorrow. It's almost dark now."

"Good."

He turned around and left the office without another word.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Rin looked through the tiny fire at Naruto and Sakura, who were fast asleep. They looked much younger when they were sleeping. Far too young to have to worry about all of this mess. Naruto would have to be watching his back for his entire life. There would always be some lunatic out there seeking power through him. And he didn't have his father to help him through that, who undoubtedly would have known exactly what to do. And Sakura… She hadn't quite figured her out yet, but she knew something had changed her. She could see it in her eyes. They were both still just kids.

She hugged her knees in a feeble attempt to stay warm. The fire was too small to provide much heat. They couldn't afford attracting attention, obviously, but the fire provided a little light in the darkness. She glanced over at Kakashi, who was attempting to remove his vest without hurting his injured arm.

"I can heal that now," she said quietly.

Kakashi looked up, after tossing his vest next to him, and nodded.

She crawled the few feet to where he was sitting, situated herself next to him, and unwrapped the bandage from his arm. The bleeding seemed to have stopped. She opened the fabric from his shirt so she could see the wound better.

"I hope it isn't infected," she mumbled to herself.

And then she noticed another problem. Well, it wasn't really a problem, just maybe slightly embarrassing. The cut was too high on his arm for her to be able to just roll his sleeve up…

"Um, Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"You're kinda gonna have to take your shirt off," she said.

He gave her a strange look and shrugged, wincing as he remembered it was painful to do that.

"Okay," he replied.

He took off his headband and shirt while she waited patiently, eyes looking intently at the ground.

"Rin?" he poked her in the shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

She looked into his mismatched eyes; saw the scar running through the left one.

"I'm just worried. I haven't really healed anyone lately except myself… It's weird."

"You're worried about me?" he asked.

"Naturally," she replied.

"…That's nice," he stated.

"It is?"

"I'm usually worried about everyone else. Those two, mainly," he nodded toward Naruto and Sakura, "and you."

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**Yeah, I know it's kinda cut off there, originally this chapter was longer, but I decided to cut it in half because it's taking me way too long. So this is a short one but the other part to this conversation should be coming soon. For those of you who don't know, I have started posting updates about future chapters etc. on my profile thingy where I will explain whatever happens to be going on about why I can't update blah blah blah. So check that if you want to know whats happening with the story. Thanks, and please review!!**

**-kakashifangrl1012**


	20. Explanation

**As I said in the last chapter, that one and this one were supposed to be one chapter, but I had to split it up. This one was kind of a bitch to write so ya. That's why it took so long. As some of you may have guessed, this story is coming to an end. I just realized the other day that I actually started this story around this time last year. I know, whoa. Anyway, there are approx…eh… like 6 chapters left. **

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Chapter 20: Explanation

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Rin concentrated on focusing healing chakra in her hand. He did not watch her, but left her to concentrate on her work. Soon she felt the chakra flowing to her fingertips and put one hand gently over the gash. In a few seconds, she removed her hand and the wound had vanished.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said, now sitting diagonally from him.

"Of course I do."

Her mouth broke out into a grin.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sorry, I just can't take you seriously with that mask on and no shirt."

He gave her a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look and, a bit relunctantly, took off the mask.

"It's not like I haven't seen your face before," she said.

"True."

She then noticed that you could tell a lot about a person by their facial expression. He had told the truth, he did worry all the time. She could see it. His face showed signs of tension and slight exhaustion. So much different from the young, 14 year old face she had been expecting to see. This realization led her to ask her next question.

"Why do you worry about me?"

His gaze went from her to the fire which was growing smaller and smaller. He grabbed a handful of sticks and through them on the dying flames.

"Well, I always did, I guess. I didn't show it, but I did. Sensei and Obito did too. And then you were gone… and you didn't come back. So I worried. I'm worried now that it will happen all over again and you'll leave, or die, or God knows what else, and then I won't have anyone left…"

His voice trailed off as he realized that maybe he had said too much. She wore a sad expression.

"I never did tell you why I left," she said suddenly.

His eyes turned sharply from the fire to her face as she said that. He looked at her for so long she thought he could see her thoughts. But then he finally looked back to the fire again.

"I'm not sure I want to know," he said. "Do I want to know?"

The question was directed to not only her, but himself as well.

"You have to. I can't keep it to myself much longer anyway," she said.

"…Alright."

She sat next to him and began.

"I was on my way back from my mission. I could sense I was being followed, so eventually I decided to turn and face whoever it was. I already knew it was a ninja because I could sense his chakra, but I confronted him anyway. I still remember what he said when I asked why he was following me. The last member of the Hayata clan. You have the power. The Akatsuki want it. And we will have it. That's what he said."

'_The Akatsuki?!'_ Kakashi thought. _'What would they possibly want with Rin?'_

However, he kept his thoughts to himself and waited for her to continue. Undoubtedly, he would find out soon.

"And then I realized why I could sense his chakra so well. Not only he wasn't hiding it, but he couldn't hide it. It was huge. He had scared me so badly. So I ran. I knew I couldn't come back. That would be impossible. For two reasons. a.) He knew who I was. And b.) I would be bringing a monster right to Konoha's doorstep."

Kakashi let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. So that was the reason.

"So now I know why you were gone, but that leaves me with more questions than I had before," Kakashi said as he shook his head. "The first and foremost being:" He turned his head to look at her. "Who are you, Rin? What is this power that you have? Why didn't you tell anyone about it?"

She sighed. More questions.

"I have a kekkei genkai. A terrifying power that was handed down in my family. I didn't tell anyone because my entire clan was killed because of that power. A long time ago. My clan was murdered because the rest of Konoha believed we were too strong. Only a handful of people survived…I can take away chakra… from anything. Or anyone for that matter."

"You can…take chakra away from people? You could kill them by draining all of their chakra?"

"Yes."

"That's…interesting."

She turned her head to look at him sharply.

"It is?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I can't believe you never utilized it."

"To kill people? That's-"

"No," he interrupted, "To heal people, Rin. Everything has chakra. Anything living thing.

Think of all the good you could do."

He was right. All this time she had been focused on the bad things that she could do when she should have been thinking of the good. On the battlefield, or in the hospital, she could heal wounded ninja by taking chakra from plants, trees, flowers, anything around her that was living. Anything that wasn't a person, of course. There were tons of possibilities.

"Although I'm sure the Akatsuki didn't have that purpose in mind," he said in a darker tone.

"Yeah… Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

I'm…a lot of things. A team member, a medic, a ninja, a friend. You're not mad at me are you?"

He pretended to think about it.

"No."

"So I'm still a friend, right?"

"Always."

"Good," she yawned," because I'm a little short on those right now."

She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. If she had been more awake, maybe her logical side would have protested against that, but as it was she was half asleep. Logic didn't work well when you were half asleep. The last thing she saw was the orange flames of the fire before she drifted off.

Kakashi was still attempting to process all of the information he just learned when he felt a weight on his shoulder. He looked over to see Rin, eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

"Rin?" he said quietly.

No answer.

He sighed and carefully picked her up, so as not to wake her, and carried her over to her sleeping bag. He kneeled and laid her down. And just for a moment, he saw a younger, 14 year old version of her. And just as quickly, it disappeared. He blinked a few times to help him stay awake.

'_Or maybe I'm going crazy.'_ He thought.

He brushed a short piece of hair from her face and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight," he whispered and went back to his previous spot to keep watch.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

**A little fluffy there at the end. : I'm sorry to say that it is more than likely that I will not update again until the beginning of August, so just a heads up to everyone. Thanks, and review to tell me what you think!**


	21. Black Out

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**Sorry about the long wait. I admit it has been awhile hasn't it? Fortunately, I have finished the stupid online course thing that I had to do this summer, leaving me more time to write. So now my real summer starts. And there's only two weeks left. Sigh.**

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Chapter 21: Black Out

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Sakura sat on the dew encrusted grass and gazed at the sunrise. The sky was filled with various hues of pink, orange, and purple. Tiny shafts of sunlight filtered in through the trees around her. It was one of those moments when everything just stopped and seemed to appreciate the beauty of the world.

It was one of those rare times when she was truly happy.

No worries.

No memories.

Just calm.

She knew it wouldn't last.

The sun continued to rise over the horizon, slowly blinding her with its brightness, casting light on her comrades' faces behind her.

'_Okay, happy moment over. Time to wake everybody up.'_

She pushed herself off the ground and stepped over to Naruto, who was splayed out on the ground next to his sleeping bag which he had obviously rolled out of during the night.

'_That kid must have the craziest dreams.'_ She thought, bringing a slight grin to her features.

She debated with herself briefly on how to wake him up. She nudged him with her foot slightly.

"Hinata?" he said almost hopefully.

"No, Naruto, its Sakura. Wake up."

Naruto opened his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Hey, back from dreamland, loverboy?" Sakura teased as she looked down on his confused expression.

"Loverboy?" Sakura heard Rin's voice.

"Oh, nothing," Sakura said as she saw Naruto's face turn slightly pink.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

Naruto tightened the straps on his backpack and continued marching down the road. He glanced back at his teammates, who in his opinion, were lagging behind. He was about to say something when he noticed a bird flying overhead.

'_A messenger bird.'_ He thought.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto hollered.

Kakashi saw Naruto point towards the sky and looked up. He saw a brown speckled bird slowly circling above him.

"What now?" he muttered and raised his arm so the bird could land.

It spiraled down in tight circles and landed with ease on his outstretched arm. Kakashi quickly untied the tiny scroll from its leg and opened it as the bird flew off again, back towards the village. His eyes scanned the message and he frowned.

"Oh," he said simply.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

He handed the letter to her. It read:

ABANDON MISSION. RETURN TO VILLAGE IMMEDIATELY. AKATSUKI IN LAND OF FIRE. AFTER FOX.

"Oh," Sakura agreed.

"Do I not get to be in the loop here?" Rin asked.

"We're going back to the village," Kakashi replied. "Naruto! Come back!"

"Okay, I won't ask," Rin said and began walking back along the road towards the Hidden Leaf.

Naruto, who was some thirty feet ahead of them, quickly ran back and proceeded to ask a trillion questions.

"What's going on? Why are we going back? Are we in trouble?"

"The Akatsuki are here," Sakura stated. "I think that pretty much answers all three questions."

Naruto's face fell considerably.

"Crap," he said. "…But why are we going back then? We should stand and fight!"

"No, Naruto. Rin is here too, remember? Sakura and Rin are both medics, they're job is to heal, not fight. Which leaves only you and me," Kakashi explained.

"Hey! I can fight!" Sakura and Rin said simultaneously.

"It's still too dangerous."

"Not if we…"

Sakura tuned out the rest of the argument. She decided she would rather avoid a fight if at all possible, especially when the Akatsuki were involved.

She felt an icy chill shiver down her spine and stopped. Someone was watching again.

'_Who is following me all the time?'_ She thought.

"Oof!" Naruto bumped into her.

"Why are you just standing there, Sakura?"

"Shut up, Naruto. We're not alone."

The rest of her team heard her softly proclaimed statement and everyone immediately quieted, but kept moving so as not to attract attention. Now Sakura saw that they all felt it too by their expressions and were on guard in case of attack.

'_Is it the Akatsuki? Sound nin? What is going on?'_ She thought wildly.

She kept her hands hanging loosely at her sides, ready to defend herself if necessary. She figured it would become necessary very soon. If it was the Akatsuki-

"I would say this little game is pointless, you obviously know I'm here."

Instantly, the four Leaf ninja stopped in their tracks, observing their surroundings and taking fighting stances.

'_Who…'_

"I know that voice," Rin whispered.

"Where are you?! Show yourself!!" Naruto hollered at the trees.

"Well, well. As rambunctious as ever I see," the same voice drifted through the air.

Naruto gritted his teeth and made an angry face. Kakashi slowly lifted his headband to reveal the Sharingan eye.

"Stay calm, Naruto. Think," he said, never taking his eyes off the trees.

"And who is the new friend you have there? I do believe I've seen her before…"

A kunai whizzed through the air and would have hit Rin had she not reacted quickly and moved out of the way. The mysterious stranger finally revealed his identity since his hiding place was now obvious. He leaped from a tree and landed lightly in front of them. The leaf ninja all showed varying degrees of surprise on their faces when they saw who it was.

"Kisame Hoshigake," the fish-like Akatsuki member introduced himself to Rin. "Pleased to meet you."

"Kakashi that's the one who—" Rin began quietly but was cut off by Kisame.

"Ah, yes. Hatake, the copy ninja. It has been a while, hasn't it?" he casually put his hand on the handle of the giant sword on his back.

"Yeah," Kakashi stood up straighter, "So, Kisame."

"Hmm?" the rogue shiniobi raised his eyebrows.

"Who are you stalling for?"

"Stalling? Me?" he feigned innocence. "I was just trying to make conversation."

"Enough conversation!" Naruto yelled. "Let's just get down to it!"

Kisame laughed hoarsely, as though it was something he wasn't used to doing. He gave Naruto a wide grin and looked at him with his beady eyes.

"If it isn't the fox boy. I wondered when you'd set off that mouth of yours."

"Shut up!" Naruto roared.

"Easy, Naruto," Sakura put a hand on his shoulder.

Kisame continued to leer at Naruto, but then he suddenly turned his attention to Rin. He looked her over again and grinned.

"Ahh…yes. I remember now, you're the Hayata girl."

His smile only got wider when Rin grimaced. Sakura and Naruto looked from Rin to Kisame to Rin again.

"What?" Sakura asked, "How do you know this jerk?" She pointed at Kisame for emphasis. Rin didn't answer her.

"It was you who threatened me, wasn't it?" she questioned Kisame.

"Yes, you were a fast one, though; I never got you," he smirked, "Until now, of course."

"Rin, don't let him get to you," Kakashi warned, "He's just trying to buy time."

"For what?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi said, "but this isn't like him. There's something more going on here."

Naruto, who had been fuming silently while watching the proceedings, suddenly tried to rush past Kakashi and Rin at Kisame.

"I'm sick of this!" he shouted.

"No, Naruto!" Kakashi caught his arm just barely restraining him. Rin quickly grabbed his other arm. Kisame looked amused and flickered his eyes to the trees.

'_That was a signal,'_ Kakashi thought.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

"No, Naruto!" Sakura heard her sensei shout.

She had been about to grab Naruto as well when she heard a thump behind her. She barely had a chance to look behind her into the blood red eyes of her attacker and her own eyes widened when she recognized him.

Then everything went black.

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**Once again, another cliffy. Boohahahahaha. Pretty please review, the number of reviews I get are slowly decreasing. It makes me sad. I probably won't update again until school starts and I get back in the rhythm of learning again. So that sucks. And I start high school this year. Fantastic. **


	22. Distraction

**Yeah, all you people who were like "Don't worry, high school is fine." Just tell me what school you're going to and I'll transfer. As predicted, it sucks. I have virtually no writing time, I'm bound to get a writer's block because of the stress, and my work load has doubled. So ya. But enough of my complaining, here's the next chapter. Oh yeah, and thanks to all those who reviewed for the last chapter. I don't know if it was because I asked everyone to review more, but I got a whopping 18 of them!! **

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Chapter 22: Distraction

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'_That was a signal,'_ Kakashi thought.

The thought had barely entered his mind when he instinctively sensed someone behind him. He whipped around to see Kisame's partner in crime hit Sakura on the head with the blunt end of a kunai.

"No!" he lunged toward him, and missed by a fraction of an inch as Itachi quickly leaped back away from his reach, Sakura limp in his arms.

"Did you forget about me?" he heard a voice behind him and barely had time to sidestep as a huge blade made a deep gash in the ground where he had been standing.

'_Damn! Why didn't I see this coming?!'_

"Naruto go after Sakura! Now!" he shouted as he jumped in the air to avoid getting slashed in half by Kisame.

"Right!" he heard Naruto obey somewhere close to him.

Said ninja ran past his sensei after Itachi who had long gone. He plunged into the trees, the will to save his teammate driving him on.

Kakashi had landed a few feet behind Kisame when he noticed something important.

Rin was nowhere in sight.

'_Where is she? Did Itachi get to her too?'_ Even as the thought entered his mind he dismissed it. _'No, he couldn't possibly capture two people at the same time with Naruto chasing him. But where…'_

His thoughts were interrupted when the sword came crashing down towards him again, just missing him by centimeters as he dove and back flipped out of the way of his opponent. Kisame lifted his sword and balanced it on his shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the handle.

"At bit slow today, I see," Kisame remarked. "Worried about your girlfriend, perhaps?"

Kakashi ignored the comment, "What do you want with Sakura?"

The swordsman shrugged, "Her talents could be useful to us."

Kakashi knew he wasn't going to get a straight answer. He tried to think of any possible motive they would have, but a mixture of adrenaline and worry prevented him from thinking straight.

"She's a medic, you don't need her. Why would you take her?"

Kisame just shrugged again and raised his eyebrows as if to say, "How should I know?" He hefted samehada off his shoulder and let gravity crash it to the ground. He stepped to the side of it and grabbed hold of it with both hands. Kakashi knew he was about to rush at him.

"Stop thinking about the girl, she's as good as dead," Kakashi felt his heart jump, "Your fight is with me."

The jonin sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Kisame was about to make his move when he heard a thump behind him. He turned his head to look only to see Rin come at him full speed with a kunai in her hand.

"SC, kcatta!" she shouted at Kakashi.

She swung the knife at Kisame, but he easily brought up his sword, turning his back to Kakashi and deflected the weak blow. Her hand was knocked away, and the sword kept moving and proceeded to cut her in half.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

'_Just keep going.'_

At the moment that was the only thing on his mind. He just had to make it somewhere safe and then he could rest again. His upper arm was soaked in blood by now and he was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. Even the strongest ninja was prone to bleeding to death. He knew he was in the Land of Fire now, not that that was any comfort, but it meant that he was far from the Sound, and that was good at least. He could just see the road now and he diligently kept moving from branch to branch. If he could find the road, maybe he could roughly pinpoint his location.

He landed on a limb of a tree next to the road and leaned against the trunk watching and listening for any telltale signs that he was being followed. He heard nothing and once again inspected his arm and rewrapped the bloody cloth around it tighter. He looked around again.

'_This must be the road to the village.'_ He thought.

Arguing voices wafted through the air to his ears. He quickly crouched down and tried to make himself as invisible as possible. He deduced that it was coming from the road, not behind him in the woods. He heard the crunching of shoes on the dirt close now and peered out though the leaves. What he saw almost made him lose his balance.

He saw his pink-haired, green-eyed ex-teammate walking down the road. She suddenly stopped, seemingly listening for something. Sasuke stayed exactly where he was, not daring to move. Had she heard him? Why was she there in the first place? What would he do if she found him? She stumbled forward a bit and Naruto came into his line of view.

'_What an idiot. He wasn't watching where he was going.'_

"Why are you just standing there, Sakura?"

'_And asking stupid questions.'_

"Shut up, Naruto. We're not alone." Sakura retorted.

Sasuke tensed. She did know he was here. What now? But before he could come up with a plan, he heard yet another voice.

"I would say this little game is pointless, you obviously know I'm here."

He recognized the voice instantly. It was hard not to. It was Kisame Hoshigake, one of the seven swordsmen, and an Akatsuki member. But Sasuke didn't pay much attention to those facts. The only thing he was concerned with was that where Kisame was, Itachi wasn't far behind, which meant that he was here, right now, probably lying in wait to attack. Sasuke didn't know if he was dizzy from the blood loss or because of all of the information pelting his brain, but he knew he had to do something, or he would be discovered and in his current state, if he should have to fight he would probably lose. So he watched the confrontation unfold before him, maintaining his silence.

His heart jumped when Itachi attacked Sakura.

'_NO!'_

He almost jumped out of the tree and attacked his older brother right there, but restrained himself. He could hurt Sakura. As soon as Itachi took off into the surrounding forest he rushed after him. He would finally have his revenge.

And in all the fighting and confusion, no one noticed he had ever been there.

0--o--0--o--0--o--0--o--0

POOF!

Rin's shadow clone exploded into little white clouds. Kakashi quickly interpreted her message and charged at Kisame while his back was still turned.

Kisame didn't react to the white smoke in front of him. He simply slowly turned around and raised his sword to block Kakashi's attack. But the jonin knew he would defend himself. He seemed to attack higher, where Kisame was holding the sword to block him, but in a flash he lowered his body at the last second and plunged the knife into Kisame's chest. Kisame merely grinned.

And he turned to water and splashed on the ground.

'_A water clone…'_

"How…" he muttered.

He stood up straight and looked around for Rin. Kisame must have made the water clone just before Rin attacked him and since Kakashi was distracted he didn't see that it wasn't the real thing. And so the rogue ninja had escaped. Kakashi stared at the small puddle near his feet and tried to work out all the details.

"Kakashi?" came a voice from behind him.

"It was never about Sakura," he explained without turning around. "They just wanted to lure Naruto towards them. Sakura was the bait. And we completely fell for it."

He turned around to face Rin. He was met with a determined stare.

"Let's go," she simply said.

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**Ya, it's been like 2 months since I wrote the first word of this chapter. Sorry for the delay. Shows you how swamped I am. Please review, it makes me happy during my stressful days. **


	23. Control

**Hey, y'all. Just wanted to say that in case any of you are wondering, SC kcatta means shadow clone attack. Rin said that to Kakashi so that he wouldn't freak out when she got slashed and he then had an opening to attack Kisame. Ta-da. **

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Chapter 23: Control

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Kakashi and Rin felt the chakra in the air before they saw it. Naruto was close, and close to losing control of the fox. It was a miracle he wasn't completely out of it yet.

"That's the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra?" Rin said.

"Yeah. Don't you remember it?" Kakashi replied.

"Of course, I couldn't forget."

They were now in pursuit of Naruto, who was in pursuit of Itachi, who had captured Sakura. It had been a confusing day. Kakashi caught sight of Naruto. The chakra around him was so strong it was visible, and he was running on all fours, leaving turned up dirt and grass in his wake.

"We have to catch up to him and calm him down, it's the only thing we can do. The seal holding the fox in is weakening, he can control it until the fourth tail emerges, and then the fox takes over," Kakashi warned Rin.

"That's your plan of action?"

"Like I said, there's nothing else we can do."

"…I could take away his chakra."

"What?" Kakashi asked. "No, both of you could die."

"I wouldn't take all of it, stupid. Just enough to take the edge off, so that you can calm him down."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

He glanced at her. He knew that she could kill him on the spot with that jutsu. She was altogether a better ninja now than before.

"Right. Do it," he consented.

Both of them sped up until they were just a little ways behind Naruto. The kyubbi container kept moving without paying attention to them. He had only one tail, but it could turn into four really fast. Kakashi jumped over Naruto and continued to run in front of him. As he looked back at his student, he saw the red eyes flicker blue, but they immediately turned red again.

"Now, Rin!" Kakashi called over his shoulder.

Rin performed the hand signs for her jutsu as she was running. Then, she stopped and extended her arm towards Naruto and pointed with her first and middle finger.

"The Art of Chakra Possession," she said.

Naruto/Kyubbi stopped in his tracks, feeling the effect of the jutsu. Rin closed her eyes. If she lost concentration for a second, the jutsu would dissipate. Naruto fell to his knees and dug his claws into the earth, trying to fight it off. Kakashi went up to Naruto and crouched in front of him.

"Naruto," he said calmly. Said person did not look up from the ground. "Look at me," Kakashi said. This time he did. Some part of his mind was back in control. The tail was slowly disappearing. "Let go," Kakashi said. Naruto growled. His eyes flickered blue then turned red again. "Stop," Kakashi commanded.

Rin was nearly at her limit. The fox's chakra was poisoning her. Her body felt like it was burning as she absorbed the toxic energy. She wanted to collapse, but if Naruto lost control, they would all suffer for it. She opened her eyes to see what was happening, but quickly closed them again when she saw stars.

"Hurry," she managed to say.

Kakashi looked at her when he heard how weak her voice was. _'Oh no.'_ He thought.

"Come on, Naruto," he said.

Finally, the young ninja conquered the opposing chakra. His eyes turned their normal cerulean blue, and the aura of chakra vaporized around him. With a last confused look, he passed out.

Rin immediately stopped the jutsu, whether she knew Naruto was okay or she was just exhausted Kakashi didn't know, and stumbled forward a few steps before he deftly caught her in his arms. He sat on the ground with her. Her face was sweaty, but she felt cold. He knew her body was trying to fight off the Nine Tail's chakra. He needed to take care of her. He sighed.

They weren't going to get any farther tonight.

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Naruto opened one eye just a crack only to have light from outside world nearly blind him. For a second all he saw was a peculiar orange light.

'_Am I dead?'_

He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and found the light was coming from a small fire.

'_Oh.'_

He sat up slowly. He didn't feel all that great, he noticed, not like one should feel after multiple hours of sleep. The last thing he remembered was chasing after Itachi…

'_Sakura!'_

"Would you stop it, I'm fine," said a female voice.

"Just rest, okay? You're the medic, we can't risk having you injured, especially with what we've got ourselves into," said another voice.

"Whatever. I'm hungry."

"Me too," Naruto said.

Rin stopped rummaging through her pack and she and Kakashi looked towards him from across the little fire.

"Welcome back," Kakashi said.

Naruto looked at both of them. Neither looked so good. Rin looked pale and was clearly trying to not look exhausted and Kakashi looked tired and worried.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. He could guess, but he had to be sure.

"The fox took over. Rin had to use a jutsu to take away some of the Nine Tail's chakra, so that your mind could retake control of your body."

"Woah," he said, "You can do that?"

Rin nodded as she continued looking through the bag.

"So then, you absorbed the chakra." Rin nodded again. "But you could have died." Naruto said disbelievingly. "You should have died. I could have killed you."

She looked at him sharply.

"It was not your fault. And I am clearly not dead, so don't worry about it. Somehow my body expelled the chakra from my network," she shrugged. "I think it has something to do with the jutsu, but I don't know. Ah, there it is." She pulled a little container out of the bag.

Naruto drooled. He thought he was dreaming. Not only had this woman saved him from being consumed by the fox, but she had **ramen.**

Then he remembered it wasn't his.

Rin saw his face light up at the sight of food and then fall again because he thought he couldn't have it. She chuckled and tossed it to him. He caught it quickly and looked at her questioningly.

"Yes, you can have it," she said while rolling her eyes.

"Thanks!"

Naruto grinned and miraculously cooked the ramen with practiced ease, slurping it gratefully. Rin leaned back, using her pack as a pillow and watched the darkening sky through the trees. Naruto got up and put the half-empty ramen cup back in her hand.

"You have to eat some too," he said when she asked why; "We all have to keep our strength up, so we can get Sakura back. It's not fun to fight with an empty stomach, trust me."

"Yes, sensei," she replied half-sarcastically, half a slip of the tongue. _'I have to quit doing that, or there is going to be a lot of explaining to do.'_

Kakashi shot her a look when she said this and she smiled cheekily. She ate the rest of the ramen and felt a little better, but nowhere near a hundred percent.

"Alright, let's go," Naruto proclaimed just as she finished the last noodle, "There's no time to lose."

"We're not leaving yet," Kakashi announced, breaking his silence.

"What are you talking about? We have to go now, before they hurt Sakura! We've wasted too much time already!" he shouted.

"They won't hurt Sakura. She is simply being used as bait. They want the fox, Naruto, you. They know you'll come for Sakura, so they have a chance of capturing you. And we can not let that happen," Kakashi said matter-of-factly. "Then both of you will die."

"But—"

"Naruto, I promise we'll get Sakura back, but we need a strategy," Kakashi interrupted with finality.

"…Fine."

"What's the strategy, then?" Rin questioned.

Kakashi took a moment to think while Rin and Naruto watched him apprehensively.

"We rest tonight," he finally replied, "When I have all of my strength back tomorrow, I'll summon Pakkun and he can sniff out Sakura. Once we find where they've taken her we can decide what to do next. It shouldn't be far, since they want us to find them."

Rin nodded and Naruto sighed, his logic rejected yet again.

"And since you seem to have the most energy, Naruto, you can take the first watch," Kakashi added.

Naruto plopped on the ground and crossed his arms. _'Am I being punished?'_ He thought. Then, _'No, Kakashi-sensei's just mean.'_ If anyone could have heard his thoughts, he would have sounded like a three year old.

He glanced over at Rin who was attempting to get comfortable so she could sleep. He had had a sneaking suspicion for a while now that she knew something about him that he didn't. Something really important. He turned to face away from her, looking out into the now dark forest. Whatever. He would find out eventually. But for now, his thoughts turned to Sakura and how they were going to rescue her from those creeps. He just hoped they could all make it out alive.

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**Kinda ominous, yes? Ominous is what I was going for. Anyway, sorry my chapters have become increasingly shorter. However, I am a high school student, people. My schedule is eternally dictated by homework and clubs. And I confess to be a bit of a tv addict. I watch like every show you can think of involving cops, doctors (or both) and drama. And in my defense this chapter is like 5 pages long on Microsoft Word. **


	24. No Looking Back

**Quick question before we get down to business. This may seem stupid if you're a fanfiction expert, but I'm pretty much clueless, so here goes. If I change my penname, will it automatically change on people's favorites and alerts and all that? I kinda doubt it, but I thought I'd ask anyway. If you know the answer please tell me. Now with that out of the way, enjoy chapter 24! (Holy crap! It's chapter 24 already?!)**

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Chapter 24: No Looking Back

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The first thing she noticed when she came to was the throbbing pain in her head. Fortunately, wherever she was, it was dark, so the light didn't blind her upon awakening. Although, she supposed darkness wasn't really that good either. She sat up slowly, feeling her way around in the blackness. She was sitting on a slightly damp wooden floor. There was a wall behind her which she leaned against, also made of wood.

As she observed her surroundings, a surprising thought came to her.

'_I'm not dead?'_

Sakura was pretty sure she was alive, unless this was hell. No, hell didn't smell like trees. She was still in the forest somewhere. Which meant she had been kidnapped by Itachi and Kisame. Fantastic.

"Well, well. Finally awake, are we?" drawled a voice.

Sakura was so startled that she jumped to her feet, instantly reaching for a kunai. Except the holster wasn't there. It made sense. Of course, they had taken all of her weapons from her. There was no chance of escape. She had close to no chakra and a head injury. Even if she did escape briefly, she would more than likely run into something before actually making any headway. Ha, headway. How ironic.

"Don't even think about trying to escape girl," the voice read her thoughts, "We've temporarily sealed your chakra. You won't make it past the door."

'_I don't even know where the door is, asshole.' _Sakura thought.

Leaning against the wall, she sank to the floor again. She saw a set of teeth flash a smile on seeing her apparent defeat.

"What do you want," she mumbled wearily.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," Kisame's face became visible in a tiny ray of twilight, "Any movement out there?" he called a little louder.

"No," said another voice from the corner of the room and Sakura was startled again.

She immediately recognized the voice. After all, it had only a slight variation from his brother's. She ignored the many outbursts threatening to come from her lips and seethed quietly. It wouldn't help to make her captors mad. She wasn't dead, so they clearly needed her for something. But what could she have that they could possibly want? Her medical abilities, her strength? Both were irrelevant. Neither of them was injured and both of them were stronger than she was, as illustrated by her current situation. So they kidnapped her, but they didn't want her…

No… they wanted the Nine Tailed Fox.

And he would do anything to get her back.

"Naruto," she whispered.

"You finally figured it out," Kisame said.

"You won't get him," Sakura said angrily, "I won't let you."

"Oh, no?" Kisame leered, "You shouldn't be making threats you can't carry out, girl."

Sakura half lunged at him before crashing to the ground and blacking out for a few seconds at his feet. She quickly regained consciousness and glared up at him, a strand of pink hair falling across her face. The shark-like man met her gaze. Despite her outward confidence, she felt a chill course through her body.

"We will capture him this time, and it will be all…your…fault," he spit out.

"No way," Sakura retorted, slowly retreating toward the wall again, "Kakashi-sensei and Rin will—"

"Never make it out alive," he cut her off. "Itachi will never lose to that cheap imitation Sharingan, and the woman is nothing. I'll kill her with one swipe of my blade."

Sakura, upon reaching the wall, collapsed against it once again. The sealed chakra was just keeping her alive. It wasn't circulating through her body. The only reason she could move was because she was a ninja; she was trained for this.

She knew that Kisame was just trying to get to her, so why was it working? She knew her friends would stay alive, no matter how good Itachi and Kisame were, they had always managed to fend them off before. So why should she feel any different now? But there was that nagging in the back of her mind, a feeling. She felt like it was going to be different this time. Kisame, noticing he had lost Sakura's attention, turned to Itachi again.

"Still nothing?" he asked.

"It is hardly daybreak. Kakashi will have figured out our plan by now; he will wait until all of them have regained their chakra," Itachi answered tonelessly. "They will most likely come around midday."

"Or maybe they just don't care as much as you think they do, eh?" Kisame grinned at Sakura.

"Shut up," she retorted with the best mean face she could muster.

Kisame stopped grinning and set his mouth in a grim line.

"Are you sure we can't hurt her?" Kisame asked, though it sounded more like a complaint.

"No," Itachi replied.

"Why not? She doesn't need all of her fingers."

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine.

"No one wants damaged goods, Kisame."

"Hmph," was all the shark-like man said in reply.

He didn't move to torture her, so Sakura assumed she was safe. For now.

Daylight was approaching fast; Sakura realized it was early morning. Tiny rays of light seeped through the cracks of the wall behind her. They appeared to be in a one room cabin or something like it. She could now make out the outline of Itachi, standing to the left of Kisame, looking out a small window. His face was set in the stoic mask that it always was, and there must have been some trick of the light, for if it had not been for the telltale scars on his face, Sakura could have sworn it was Sasuke standing there, not his older brother.

Sakura felt her heart pang with grief. For whatever childish reason, she wished that Sasuke would come and rescue her now, with Naruto and Kakashi and Rin, just like he always had. She tried to banish the thought from her mind, but because of whatever weakened state she was in, her brain—and her heart—held on to that vision and did not let go. She let every fiber of her being dwell on him, just like she had before she tried to force him from her mind.

Suddenly, Itachi spoke.

"You have seen my younger brother recently?" he said in a very formal tone.

Sakura looked up in shock. Had he been reading her mind? Was this some sort of trick, genjutsu maybe? Should she lie?

"A while ago," she replied vaguely.

"Has he improved?"

She didn't answer.

Itachi seemed lost in thought for a moment, yet still keeping watch out the window. When Sakura did not say anything, he spoke.

"He will not come."

Sakura's eyes widened, but she quickly hid her emotions.

"I know. I did not expect him to," she replied coolly.

Kisame seemed generally confused; he had somewhat of a comical look on his face. He was looking at Itachi, wondering why he would even comment on his brother. After all, the former Mist ninja had learned that there was mutual hate between the Uchihas.

But in actuality, they were both wrong. Sasuke was coming, and he wasn't looking back.

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The younger brother, as Itachi had referred to him as, was actually very close to the little shack. In fact he could see it. He had barely surpassed all of the traps around the area, with only the help of his sharingan to clear the path. The Akatsuki members had taken no chances. Curiously, there was one wide expanse of forest with no traps whatsoever; it was most likely the way that the Leaf ninja were meant to take. Kakashi had a sharingan too, he would see through all of the traps set and take the easiest path.

Sasuke had gone around through the "back way". Basically, instead of taking the painfully obvious route, he cut around the back of the little building and hid behind a tree some twenty feet away. He could see that the walls were reinforced with chakra; there would be no easy way in. But only a fool would barge in to an enemy base by himself. He would watch and wait for an opening, letting Naruto take care of the barging in part.

For all of his strengths, Naruto still didn't seem to understand strategy too well. At least not when saving a friend was involved. Sasuke was the complete opposite, he knew that strategy was key in a mission; emotions were not to be considered. Ironically, emotion was at the heart of this mission.

He wondered what was going on behind those walls. Though for all his talents, he did not obtain the byakugan, and therefore, could not see anything that was happening. It was somewhat frustrating. For all he knew, they could be torturing her. He did know that torture wasn't really Itachi's style, but Kisame was a different story. The thought made him itch to fight, but again, he restrained himself.

_'Watch and wait. Watch and wait,' _He repeated in his mind over and over.

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Kakashi sat on the damp grass watching the sun rise through the trees. For a long time he had made a habit of it; he had gotten up early everyday to watch the world light up. But recent years had changed a lot of his habits, and this one was no exception.

So today he enjoyed this rare moment of peace. A moment of quiet in the life of a shinobi was something to be enjoyed. He was on watch, having told Naruto to go to bed halfway through the night. Rin was the lucky one. He had decided not to wake her up and let her regain her strength for the fight that would come today.

Everything around him smelled green. Birds were chirping, snatching up worms from the damp ground for their breakfast. The other animals of the forest began to stir as well, scurrying about to their respective destinations. He focused on the horizon, his mind wandering away to different things.

Behind him Naruto snored loudly, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the sleeping kyubbi container. He rolled his eyes at seeing Naruto with his mouth open, drooling all over the place. He turned back to the sky, once again becoming absorbed in his thoughts.

He still had no plan. In any scenario he ran through his mind, either Naruto was killed and Sakura was saved, or Sakura was killed and Naruto was saved. Logically, it was better to keep Naruto from the Akatsuki, and Sakura would be killed in place of many thousands that would die if the organization obtained the nine-tailed beast. But logic did not rule in this situation. There were just too many factors, too many things that could go wrong. The best chance they had right now was to be cautious and hope for the best.

"Hey."

Kakashi turned to look at her as Rin sat down next to him. She still looked sleepy, but much better than the previous day. She didn't say anything else, just sat next to him and watched the world just as he was doing. Without her ninja gear, he would have never known that she was a trained fighter. She was calm and peaceful; the early morning sun lit up her face; the breeze played with her hair.

"What?" she asked, noticing his gaze, "Is there dirt on my face or something?"

"No, I just noticed you look a lot better," he stated.

"I didn't look good before?" she joked.

Kakashi gave her a look. She smiled.

"I do feel better," she said.

"Good."

Naruto snored again. He rolled over in his sleep, mumbling incoherently. Rin rolled her eyes, echoing Kakashi's reaction.

"I wanna kick him. He kept waking me up during the night," she looked over her shoulder at the blonde.

"Let him sleep," Kakashi said, "We have a long day ahead of us."

"Have you figured out how we can pull this off without any of us getting killed?" she turned back to him.

He sighed, "No."

"Me neither," she replied.

They both sat in companionable silence for a while, knowing that they would have to move out soon. They each continued to try to silently come up with a plan, but to no avail. Rin finally broke the silence.

"I remember doing this on a mission with you," she said thoughtfully.

"Doing what?"

"Watching…" she gestured with her hand to the scene in front of them, "this."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she smiled faintly, "We were sitting like this, and Obito woke up and saw us. He didn't like it, so he snuck up behind you and pulled your headband down over your eyes. You two would have pummeled each other if I hadn't intervened."

"Oh," Kakashi said lamely. He struggled to remember. Then the light bulb went on. "I remember, now," he smiled a little. "I believe sensei slept through the whole thing."

Rin chuckled, "Oh yeah."

"What a team," Kakashi continued, "Fighting the forces of stupidity every day."

"We were pretty stupid," she agreed, glancing at him.

He shook his head.

"You were never stupid," he protested.

She scoffed, "Uh, yeah, I think I was."

"I was more stupid than the two of you put together."

"This argument is stupid," she retorted. The words were followed by a brief moment of silence.

"So I guess that means we're still stupid," he remarked.

He turned to see her reaction.

"Oh, definitely," she said and smiled at him.

Neither of them looked away. He saw her eyes sparkle, and for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to move.

"So," he blurted suddenly, "I guess were just going to have to go with this, regardless of what happens."

'_What… is he saying?'_

"Go with…" she repeated.

"We have no plan," he blinked as he rose to his feet, "So were going to have to figure out what to do when we get to Sakura."

She looked up at him, "Oh. Right."

"We should go soon. I'll wake up Naruto."

She nodded. When he walked away a long sigh escaped her lips. Finally, she stood and went to pack up whatever stuff they had left.

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Itachi spoke after a long, excruciating silence. At least that was what it was like for Sakura. They hadn't tried to knock her out again, saving the energy, time, and patience for whatever was supposed to happen. And now, finally, after waiting for what seemed like forever, something was happening.

"They're getting closer."

Sakura didn't show any emotion. She was, of course, excited to hear that her friends were coming, but she wouldn't let her kidnappers see how much she was counting on them to save her. Because of her physical state, if they didn't come, she was as good as dead, and they all knew it.

Was she worried? Hell, yeah. But that didn't stop her from believing that they would all live to fight another day. For now, all she could do was wait and hope.

And that, at least, was something she knew she was damn good at.

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**Wow. This chapter was pretty long for me. Like 7 pages. Way overdue update, I know. Exams destroy all. (sighs) Oh, I have a poll on my profile that concerns my next "full-length" story. Pretty please vote. I need encouragement from you guys. Well, I don't need it, but it is definitely a motivator for me. And I totally redid my profile… and discovered I watch way too much tv. You'll get it if you read it. Thanks for sticking with me, veteran readers, and for those of you who are just joining me, welcome! Reviews are appreciated. (Which is code for TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Lol.)**


	25. The Beginning of the End

**Hey, so here's the fight you've all been waiting for. It's definitely the high drama in the story, the climax if you will. At this point I'm trying to answer a lot of things, show you the character's thoughts and what not a lot. There will probably be a lot of explaining, so bear with me on that. Buckle your seatbelts folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. **

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Chapter 25: The Beginning of the End

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They were close. Really close.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Rin stood before the expanse of forest where there were curiously no traps waiting for them. It was extremely obvious that they were meant to go this way, right into the hands of Itachi and Kisame, who would then play with them how they desired. Play meaning torture, of course.

So close, but so far away.

Kakashi examined the forest around them suspiciously. On his left, Rin did the same, looking for any signs of a trap, even though the sharingan had already told them nothing was there. Ninja had been known to get killed because they believed what they saw at first glance.

"There's nothing," Kakashi finally stated.

"What?" Naruto asked from behind him.

"This area," he gestured vaguely in the direction in front of them, "has no traps. There's nothing set to prevent us—"

"Let's go then!" Naruto proclaimed, walking around Kakashi. As soon as the unpredictable ninja reached his side, Kakashi threw his arm out, blocking him.

"—Which is why we're being careful," he finished.

"We have to hurry," Naruto argued urgently, "They could be killing her!"

Seeing the look on Kakashi's face that showed he did not want to explain, Rin patiently told Naruto, "They won't kill her until they have you, so the best thing we can do for her is to not rush in blindly and get ourselves killed."

"Sakura is tough. She can take care of herself," Kakashi added.

Naruto sighed and nodded resignedly. Kakashi finally lowered his arm. No matter how many times they tried to reassure him, he would always protest. The only thing that mattered to him was getting his friend back. Kakashi understood; he knew the feeling well.

"We move forward slowly," the copy ninja said. "Be cautious."

The other two nodded and they all began to walk toward their destination, keeping an eye out for any traps, knowing full well that they would soon have one hell of a fight on their hands.

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Kisame paced around the little shack; the anticipation was killing him. Pretty soon they would kill those idiot leaf ninja and take the fox demon for their own. He was especially looking forward to killing the Hayate girl; she caused them more trouble than she was worth. It would be satisfying to see her die. And of course, he eyed their captive with contempt, he would be more than happy to get rid of this little brat.

Even with the seal, the girl was doing remarkably well, even after she tried to lunge at him. It was foolish; she was shortening her lifespan by using the energy that was just keeping her alive. He smirked. Maybe she would die from exhaustion before her pathetic friends even got there.

Sakura breathed slowly in and out, in and out. She had to stay conscious. She had been drifting in and out for the past few minutes. She kept telling herself that if she just stayed awake, someone would come get her and remove the seal.

She kept her mind busy by thinking up strategies to get them all out. The first conclusion she came to was that if they could run, then they should run. Kakashi and Naruto were more than capable fighters, but they couldn't take on both Itachi and Kisame at the same time. She wasn't sure about Rin; much of her abilities still remained unknown to her. They couldn't call for backup; anyone sent wouldn't make it in time. They were still too far away.

'_Damn it.'_

Quite frankly, the situation seemed hopeless. She didn't know how they could all make it out alive. They needed a miracle.

"Hide," Itachi commanded to his shark-like partner.

Sakura didn't react; she was too weak. Kisame moved for the door, smirking.

"Right," he replied and slipped outside.

'_They're almost here.'_ She thought with and odd mix of happiness and dread.

Itachi remained silent at his post. Sakura kept silent as well. Had she been able to move, she might have attacked him, or at least tried to escape, but she knew that it was no use. It was infuriating to have the cause of so much pain standing only a few feet away and being able to do nothing. Apparently the anger showed on her face.

"Your hatred of me won't do you any good," Itachi tonelessly spoke.

The statement had absolutely no effect on her.

'_The hell it won't. You're dead as soon as I'm free.'_ Sakura thought, trying to boost her morale. The dull headache and the weakness throughout her body reminded her that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

As if he had heard what she thought, he said, "Emotions make you weak. You'll never be able to kill me, even with all of your strength."

'_Shinobi rule 25, don't show your emotions. Emotions are a weakness. Crying is a weakness. Love is a weakness.'_ The words reverberated through her mind.

"I've… heard it… before," she said shakily. Deciding that she was about ready to pass out enough as it is, she didn't elaborate on the subject.

"Hm," was all he said in reply and went back to his window watching.

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From his vantage point, Sasuke could see the side and the "front yard" of the "house". He had been inching closer slowly and was now about ten feet away. Neither Itachi or Kisame had detected his presence yet, otherwise he surely would have been dealt with by now. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword nervously.

Yes, the great prodigy was nervous.

Sasuke Uchiha was not a generally nervous person, in fact, he had never been nervous since his elder brother murdered his clan years before. After that, there had been no reason to be nervous or worried or concerned. So the question remained, why now? Why, after all this time, was he feeling this way?

Sasuke sighed. He had tried to deny it and push it away. It would only hinder him. But it remained firmly instilled in his brain, like a stubborn splinter that wouldn't come out.

The simple reason was, he now had someone to be nervous for. More than one person even. During his time with Team 7, perhaps against his own will, he had become emotionally attached. He made friends. For the first time in a long time, he had felt like part of a family again. He had people.

His revenge also remained constant in his mind too, though. It was always there, spurring on his will to fight, to keep fighting. And it wouldn't let go until he ended it himself.

He could tell that Team 7 was getting closer. They were all closing in on their target.

Today, it was going to end. Today, Itachi was going to die. He was going to make sure of it.

And then he was going to go home.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Get up," the Uchiha commanded.

It took a minute for Sakura's brain to process the request, and when she did, she didn't like it.

She struggled to stand up, hauling her body off of the floor, leaning heavily on the wall. She nearly toppled over again, but a hand gripped her and made her walk to the door. She stumbled outside, the late morning sunlight hitting her face and making her squint after being in the dark confines of the little shack. The hand pushed her to the ground; she felt the ring on his finger press into her arm before she fell onto the grass.

She blacked out for a second and then forced everything into focus. She sat on her knees, making an effort not to fall over. She was so tired; it would have been a great relief to succumb to exhaustion and pass out right there, but she made herself stay conscious.

There was no sign of Kisame or the rest of Team 7, instead everything was eerily quiet.

'_The quiet before the storm.'_ The cliché formed a coherent thought out of the puddle that was her mind.

Now it was only a matter of time.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"I see Sakura," Kakashi whispered.

Next to him, Naruto stiffened and would have moved had Rin not been holding on to his jacket. They all remained extremely quiet on the limb of the tree only a few jumps away from Sakura.

"We have to move," Naruto whispered back impatiently.

"Itachi is standing behind her."

"What's the plan?" Rin asked.

Kakashi remained silent. He still didn't have one. It was next to impossible to catch Itachi off guard. And Kisame remained to be seen. Who could tell what they had planned?

"I can't just stand here and watch!" Naruto said and jerked away from Rin. He bounded forward before either adults could do anything.

"Naruto, don't!"

Simultaneously, Kakashi felt another presence behind him. _'Shit.'_

"I found you!" Kisame proclaimed as he jumped out from behind them, sword raised high.

Kakashi and Rin jumped to either side, landing on different tree branches as the sword came down on the one they were previously occupying, leaving a huge gash halfway through the wood. Its owner quickly removed it and swung it over his shoulder, wearing a smug look on his face.

"Damn, I thought I was gonna get you that time," he complained, looking at the copy ninja. "I guess it's to be expected of a jonin of your status not to get killed so easily. But her?" He pointed a thumb at Rin. "You're a lot faster than I thought."

"An idiot of your status can't have much of a brain; I'm not surprised," she retorted. Kakashi didn't say anything.

"Ha," Kisame barked. "I don't think you'll be so confident when I'm about to kill you."

"We'll see about that."

"Rin…" Kakashi warned. An idiot the swordsman may be, but he was just that, an idiot with a sword. A really big sword.

They all stood, contemplating what their next moves would be.

"Which one first?" Kisame asked tauntingly. He glanced at Kakashi and, in turn, Rin. "Well, since you asked for it…"

He lunged at Rin, dragging his sword behind him and swinging it around to slice her in half. She back-flipped off of the tree limb and took out two kunai. One she threw back at his head while in mid-air, the other remained in her closed fist as she landed on the trunk of another tree, parallel to the ground, and sprang back at him. Kisame ducked under the first kunai and couldn't recover in time for the second attack. She drove the knife into his shoulder.

Kisame's clone exploded, showering Rin with droplets of water.

'_Damn, a water clone. Where's he coming from next?'_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the swordsman suddenly appear behind her companion.

"Kashi!" she shouted unnecessarily.

He sidestepped the attack easily, still balancing precariously on the branch. Kisame swung again, and this time, Kakashi jumped and began running away, back the way they had come, leading Kisame away from Naruto and Sakura. It was the beginnings of a plan.

Of course, the Akatsuki member followed, grinning maniacally. They jumped and leaped, ducked and hopped through the maze of forest.

Kakashi performed a few quick hand signs and two shadow clones materialized beside him. One went to the left and one to the right, quickly becoming hidden in the green foliage. It would serve as a good enough distraction; if everything went like he wanted it to, it would all work out in the end.

Kisame wasn't far behind him, and he looked like he was trying to figure out what was going on. He would find out soon enough. Kakashi pushed up his hitai-ate, revealing the Sharingan eye.

'_Okay, let's get a move on, shall we?'_

The shadow clones strategically moved in from behind Kisame.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

What was that damn copy ninja up to?

Kisame continued to keep him in his sights as he ran. He had speed, but it wasn't his forte. The sword weighed him down.

It was hard to predict his moves, he'd give him that. And with the sharingan… he would never be as good as Itachi, or any real Uchiha, but he knew how to maximize its capabilities to the fullest. He was no idiot, unlike the ninja he was used to fighting.

He felt an increase in chakra behind him.

'_Ha! Got you now!'_

He pushed off from a branch, swinging his body around and without any hesitation sliced the two clones in half, sending little poofs of smoke into the air where they had previously occupied space. He had turned his back on his quarry.

Bad move.

The sound of chirping birds filled the air.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Naruto wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he decided that waiting was not an option. As long as Sakura was in danger, he couldn't just stand around and do nothing. He gritted his teeth.

"I can't just stand here and watch!" he said, and made his move.

He heard, "Naruto, don't!" behind him, but he was gone.

"Sakura!"

Said kunoichi lifted her gaze from the ground slowly, as if it was an extremely difficult feat to accomplish. Blue eyes met green.

"Naruto?" she managed to squeak out.

'_What the hell is he thinking?!'_ She screamed in her head.

He charged towards her, or rather towards Itachi. He was standing a few feet behind her, watching. Naruto rushed on. Itachi made no move to attack.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto shouted.

There would be no running away now.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Ooh, cliffy. Actually I just wanted to end this chapter so I can update and figure out how to do the fight between Naruto and Itachi and eventually Sasuke. So we'll see how that goes. Kakashi's fight seems to be going well… maybe. Muhahahaha. Thanks for reading and pretty please review! Love you guys!**


	26. Promise

**Hey, everyone. It's been a while, I know. I got sidetracked and was busy with a CSI: NY fic. But now I'm back, so woo hoo! I am officially reading the shippuden manga so I can try to get a better perspective on everyone's fighting style, but no guarantees. Oh btw, Itachi's gonna stay a bad guy for this. I know he's not really bad and all that complicated politic nonsense in the manga, but what can I say. The way I got it planned out in my head is obviously different than the manga, so ya. Not sure how long the fighting will last, depends on how long my muse is willing to cooperate with me. It's gonna get good though, haha. Now that your updated, enjoy chapter 26!**

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Chapter 26: Promise

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto shouted.

What. An. Idiot.

Sasuke tensed as Naruto charged Itachi. He was going to get himself killed, and Sasuke was going to have to save his ass.

'_Dammit, Naruto.'_

Sakura was still incapacitated. She knelt on the ground, leaning forward slightly from her lack of strength. She was losing chakra fast, and if someone didn't do something about it, she would die from exhaustion. He had been furious when he saw his elder brother shove her to the ground and saw how weak she was. Almost broken. It was horrible.

'_Please tell me you have a plan, Naruto.'_

Fortunately for him, Naruto did.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

The sound of chirping birds filled the air. Kisame turned his head just in time to see Kakashi come at him, the electrically charged chidori in his palm, ready to strike. The jonin was determined.

Kisame grinned, he loved crushing his opponents resolve.

Quick as lightning, no pun intended, Kisame swung samehada around and slashed the copy ninja in half. For a few milliseconds, he felt the rush of killing, but it ended just as quickly when the shadow clone poofed and disappeared into the air.

'_Now what?'_

He thought the whole shadow clone thing was getting a bit ridiculous. And quite frankly, boring.

He lightly landed on a tree bough, observing his surroundings with a careful eye and a smirk. He always did like playing hide and seek.

"Here copy ninja. Come out, come out and play," he coaxed mockingly.

'_If I was a copy ninja, where would I hide?'_

At the moment, Kakashi couldn't believe the stupidity of the shark-like man. For claiming to hate unintelligent opponents, he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. But, unfortunately, he couldn't waste much thought on that; his genjutsu was slowly seeping the strength out of him, and he needed to concentrate for as long as possible. As soon as Kisame had made eye contact with the sharingan, he had been trapped. Kakashi was thoroughly surprised that the swordsman hadn't realized he was being manipulated right from the start. He had assumed that Kisame had seen Itachi pull off the same technique many times before and would recognize the symptoms by now. But he would figure it out soon enough. He concentrated with all his might on sustaining all parts of the jutsu; it was exhausting. He could literally feel the chakra draining out of him. Feet in front of him, Kisame stood, sword drawn, with a maniacal grin on his face.

Neither shinobi made a move. To the casual observer, it would seem a ridiculous "fight". But in reality, two forces were colliding head on.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Naruto thought he had a plan, at least.

He took out a kunai and flicked it at the Uchiha's head, who easily dodged it with a side step.

With a shout, Naruto threw a series of punches and kicks at Itachi. Ever emotionless, he blocked, dodged, and ducked under every one of them without appearing at all fatigued. Naruto continued to take out his anger on his opponent. Suddenly, Itachi grabbed Naruto's arm and hurled him to the ground making said ninja see stars. The Akatsuki member kicked the young shinobi in the ribs, sending him flying back.

After an unpleasant confrontation with the ground, Naruto groaned and rolled over. There was no way he was going to take a beating like this. He was being toyed with. He stood up.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

What was he doing? Sasuke watched his former teammate suddenly come to a stop, just moments away from hitting his opponent. His hands dropped to his sides; his face became expressionless. His stare was blank.

Well, more blank than usual.

'_Caught in genjutsu already?'_

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was going to have to reveal his presence sooner than expected. He thought he would have more time to analyze Itachi's moves and have Naruto tire him out a bit, but now the kyubbi container was caught. This was Itachi's style; neutralize your combatant before he can land a hit on you. And it was working well so far.

Naruto's expression flinched in pain for a second and then resumed its previous blank look.

'_C'mon, Naruto. Snap out of it.'_ He really didn't want to deal with this on top of everything else.

Nothing changed. Just as Sasuke was beginning to move, he stopped. His eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold before him.

'_No, dammit. You'll get yourself killed!'_

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

What was going on?

Naruto had charged out from the cover of the forest and attacked Itachi. Her senses were so out of whack that she couldn't really hear or see much; everything was blurry. She had random moments of clarity followed by near darkness. Her time was running out. With extreme effort, she turned her head to glance behind her. She saw an orange and black blob standing over her that her brain automatically connected to Naruto. With his back facing her, and he and another black and red blob, Itachi, seemed to be engaged in a staring match. They weren't moving an inch. Why would he do that? No, she wasn't thinking straight, Naruto wouldn't do that, even if he was the stupidest ninja that ever lived. Was stupidest even a word? She was so exhausted.

'_Itachi… he must have… used a…'_

What was that word?

'_Genjutsu. Must be a genjutsu.'_

And Naruto was caught right in the middle of it. Itachi would kill him. Easily. She had to do something.

She could release the genjutsu.

'_It might kill me.'_ The ominous thought penetrated her cloudy mind. But did that really matter to her at this point? She was nearly out of chakra anyway. If she didn't do anything, it would only prolong the inevitable. It was better to go out with a bang than simply flicker out. It was better to help a friend.

But was she ready to die?

Akari was going to live with someone else. Kakashi was going to have to find another person to banter with. Tsunade was going to train a new apprentice. And Sasuke…

What about Sasuke? Naruto was going to have to drag his ass back to Konoha by himself.

By freeing Naruto, maybe she would have a part in bringing Sasuke home, too. She was sure that Naruto would keep his promise. That comforted her more than anything.

For once, she would be the one saving them.

Her mind was made up.

'_Ready… concentrate…'_

She called upon her remaining chakra for her last jutsu. She concentrated more than she ever had before; she had to make it work. Slowly, she moved her hand across the long grass and grabbed Naruto's ankle.

'_This is it… Release!'_

A tiny burst of chakra traveled down her arm, through her hand, and into Naruto, jolting him out of the genjutsu. She caught the surprised look on his face, classic Naruto, and involuntarily smiled. He looked down at her, noticing the weak grip on his ankle.

"Sakura?" he said confusedly.

She wanted to reply, to tell him how much of an idiot he was, and tell him not to be so reckless when facing someone like Itachi. But she couldn't. She had no strength left. It was all over.

She slowly rolled back on the ground, closing her eyes, smile still on her face.

She was gone.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Kakashi wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. The genjutsu was draining his energy. He was losing strength fast. Kisame, on the other hand, seemed to have an inexhaustible quantity of it. He didn't seem to be weakening even a little. Not good.

Kakashi had to stop the genjutsu. Kisame was playing with him, and it was using up all of his chakra. He blinked slowly, dispelling the jutsu.

'_What now?'_ He thought. How much longer could he keep going with his chakra nearly gone?

Kisame blinked now, coming out of his stupor. His eyes landed on Kakashi, who was standing a few feet away from him. He grinned eerily.

"Genjutsu. Did you really think that would work?" he asked.

"Apparently not," Kakashi replied dryly.

A split second later he backflipped off of the tree limb to avoid an oncoming samehada. Kisame only grinned wider, if that was possible, and charged after the copy ninja. Kakashi dodged in and out of leaves, over and under branches to escape the shark-like ninja.

'_I have to get him to a better location. I'm running out of time.'_

"Don't think you're getting away this time!" Kisame shouted after him, much too close for comfort.

Kakashi barely heard the warning. He looked for any place he could go. He needed to find some open space on the ground…

There. He spotted a clearing up ahead and to his right. He angled for it and bolted at top speed. Kisame was undeterred; he wouldn't let his prey escape. He lashed his sword out in front of him, catching the sleeve of Kakashi's shirt.

'_Agh,'_ Kakashi jerked his arm away as soon as he saw the blade.

By a fraction of an inch, the blow only cut his sleeve and missed his arm. Kisame gritted his teeth in frustration. The chase continued onward.

Kakashi kept his focus on where he was going. He could see where the sunlight filtered in through the trees in a large gap ahead of him. If he could just get there, maybe he would have an advantage.

Ten feet, five, two…

He jumped down into a grassy area surrounded by trees. He landed on his hands and flipped over, facing Kisame as he jumped down as well. But before the Akatsuki member could get his footing and charge at Kakashi again, he quickly and expertly performed a few handsigns.

'_Fireball jutsu!'_

An inferno engulfed Kisame, catching him unaware. Behind and around him, the foliage caught fire, slowly reducing the once green grass and trees to char. With a small amount of relief, Kakashi thought he had wounded the inexhaustible swordsman, only to be proven wrong.

Kisame charged through the flames with a roar, completely unaffected and unharmed.

'_He must have used a barrier jutsu just before the fire hit him. I didn't even see it.'_

He ran directly at Kakashi with his sword prepared to strike. Kakashi could only dodge. Left, right, back, left again. He drew two kunai from his holster, and with one in each hand, clashed with the gigantic sword as it came down overhead. Sparks flew from the impact, and Kakashi's arms buckled under the weight. He didn't have much strength left; the fireball jutsu had taken almost all of his remaining energy.

He sank down to one knee. Kisame did not let up for even a second, still grinning with the thrill of the fight. Kakashi tried to push against the blade, but to no avail. His body just didn't have the strength.

'_Just a little longer.'_

Finally, he dove out of the way, landing on the ground to his left with a thud. His headband came loose and fell to the ground next to him. For a second, he caught sight of the azure sky. Smoke from the fire drifted lazily into the atmosphere, joining the clouds. For the first time in a long time, he thought:

'_Is this how it ends?'_

As if he had heard, Kisame let out a chuckle, "You're dead."

Removing his sword from the dirt with a tug, Kisame slowly raised it over his head. He liked to prolong his opponents last moments; it made killing them all the more fun. He was really enjoying himself in this fight. To think that he would be the one to kill the almighty copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake. Not so amazing now, is he? He smirked; it was about time he ended this.

'_It's over. I can't move. My chakra is gone.'_ Kakashi thought hopelessly.

Another thought answered him.

'_Shut up, Kakashi. You're fine; you've been through more than this. What's wrong with you?'_

What the hell was that?

Kisame brought the sword down. Kakashi watched as it fell towards him. He was going to miss so many things. His time was being cut short. No memories flashed before his eyes; there was only the present. Maybe this was the way it was meant to be.

"The Art of Chakra Possession!"

Kisame froze, the sword halfway to its destination. What was going on? He couldn't move. Suddenly, he felt weaker, like something was siphoning the chakra from his body, an unseen force. The strength drained from his limbs; his hands shook.

'_See, she saved your ass. Not that she should have to. You're supposed to protect her, remember? How ironic. Now move before he drops the sword on you.'_

Following the advice of the voice, Kakashi planted a hand on the ground next to him and slowly, painstakingly pushed himself over, out of the path of the giant sword. Shortly after, the sword and its owner crashed to the ground beside him, sending particles of dirt into the air. Kisame's face was turned toward Kakashi. The rogue ninja's eyes still had a dull spark of life, but it was fading fast.

"Who…" he uttered, but couldn't continue. The spark was extinguished.

Kisame Hoshigake, one of the seven swordsman of the mist, and S-class rogue shinobi, was dead.

Kakashi lifted his head an inch from the ground to get a look at his savior, although he already knew who she was. She wasn't weak like the last time she'd had to use her bloodline ability. Her eyes glowed a mysterious green color, and she was panting as she felt the effects of the large quantity of energy she absorbed. From the other side of the clearing, she caught sight of him and walked towards him. He dropped his head to the ground and closed his eyes, resigning himself to exhaustion.

But before he could pass out, he sensed a shadow looming over him. A cool hand gently pressed against his forehead and he felt new energy being poured into him. The weight of exhaustion was lifted, and his body felt lighter.

He opened his right eye to see a very worried looking Rin staring down at him. Her eyes had returned to their normal chocolate brown color.

"Kakashi?" she asked tentatively.

He took a deep breath in and out, grateful for being able to do so, and grinned. Her expression turned to one of relief, and she smiled and shook her head.

"You saw the smoke?" he asked as he sat up.

"Yeah," she replied, "I stayed close on your trail because I figured you were gonna trap him with genjutsu so that I could finish him off. But then I lost you after he broke free and you ran off into the forest. It was only when I saw the fire that I figured out where you had led him, and I came as fast as I could."

"So I was right in thinking that you couldn't do the jutsu with obstacles in your way, right?" he confirmed.

She nodded, "I need a straight connection; otherwise I would end up absorbing the chakra of anything in my way. The trees would have been a problem."

"Well, good thing you came when you did. Once again, I underestimated the sharingan," he tapped a finger over his closed left eye. "By the way, how much chakra did you give me?"

She shrugged, "Most of his." She jerked a thumb towards Kisame's body.

Kakashi glanced at the dead Akatsuki member. He was really dead; it was hard to believe. Kakashi saw Rin looking at the body as well.

"I think he's the one who attacked me."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, confused.

"When I was attacked, they found me outside the village. I was running away from someone… I never saw his face. But he kept laughing. Once I got near the village, he stopped… I probably had gotten too close to their hideout, so to keep their secret, they tried to kill me."

"That would explain why your chakra was so low. The sword absorbs chakra. If it cut you, you wouldn't be able to use it."

She nodded and didn't elaborate on the subject any further.

"What do we do with the body?" Rin asked as she stood. She held out a hand to Kakashi, who accepted it, standing up as well.

"We'll have to leave it here for now, but I'm sure the coroner's office in Konoha is going to want to examine it." He leaned down and grabbed his headband from the ground. He tied it over his forehead and pulled it down over the sharingan. "We have to help Naruto and Sakura."

"Can we make it in time?" she asked. She performed a few quick hand signs and put a concealment jutsu on the body. She staked a kunai in the ground so that they could find it later.

"I don't know, but Naruto can't handle Itachi by himself, and from what I saw, Sakura was in no condition to fight. And if Naruto loses control of the fox… well, you saw what happened."

"Yeah." They shared a look. "Let's go."

Once again, they ran through the forest, on the ground this time, back to where Sakura had been imprisoned.

"Rin?"

"What?"

"Thanks for—"

"Saving you?" she finished with a smirk. "Of course. You would have done the same for me."

"Yeah, I would."

Again, from some small corner of his mind, a remnant of his friend spoke.

'_Don't lose her again, Kakashi.'_

It was half a warning, half a friend giving another friend advice.

'_I won't, Obito. I promise.'_

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Alright, I know that some of you are probably freaking out a little right now. Or maybe a lot. Um.. don't kill me please? I won't give anything away, but I can promise you a happy ending. There are only two chapters left, so you gotta see what happens. Major sasusaku in the last two chapters. Promise. **

**One fight ends, and another is just beginning. Who will win? Who will die? Will Kakashi and Rin make it in time for the fight? What is Sasuke's plan? Can Naruto beat Itachi now that he is out of the genjutsu?**

**And most of all, what will happen to Sakura?**

**All of these questions will be answered in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review. I like to know what you guys think is going to happen. Stay tuned!**


	27. Lucky

**Hello all. Well, we're finally coming to the end. This is the second to last chapter, basically the end of the story. The last will be just kind of wrapping up. But here the fight concludes. Who will emerge victorious? Sacrifices will be made, strength tested, love realized…**

**I know. Finally, right?**

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Chapter 27: Lucky

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

'_No, dammit. You'll get yourself killed!'_

Sasuke watched as Sakura hit the ground.

There was no time. He had to make his move.

If not, she was dead.

He charged out from where he was standing behind a tree and sprinted lightning fast to attack his brother. He drew his sword and brought it down over Itachi's head. The older Uchiha did not seem surprised in the least and blocked it easily with a kunai.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he fought to gain leverage over his brother, but Itachi resisted. It was going to be a hard fought battle.

"Naruto! Get Sakura away from here! You can still save her!" he demanded.

Naruto got a horrified look on his face.

"Save…?" Only now did he realize that his friend was in mortal danger. He turned behind him and saw Sakura lying on the ground, pink hair splayed out on the grass. It was the smile that scared him. Sakura rarely smiled anymore. But now she looked peaceful. She looked like she was in a faraway place.

Out of this world.

"Sakura!" he pleaded, and gently shook her shoulder, "Get up!" Sasuke and Itachi would have to wait.

"Agh!" with a mighty shove, Sasuke pushed his brother back a tiny fraction of an inch, but it was enough for him to flick his wrist, moving the sword down, and stab upward, toward Itachi's neck. The sword made contact, but Sasuke's momentary rush of victory was extinguished when the shadow clone poofed with a small pop. The real Itachi had been hiding all along, watching and waiting, just his younger brother had been doing moments before.

Sasuke looked around, turning his head in every direction, expecting an attack, but none came.

"They put a chakra seal on her," he said seemingly to himself, but Naruto heard, "It should be on her neck or shoulder. Release it, and she might wake up."

Not bothering to ask questions, Naruto nodded mutely. Sasuke would have done it himself, but he fully intended to flee once he killed Itachi. He had to keep up the illusion that he was officially a rogue ninja; there was no going back for him.

Naruto dutifully did as he was told. He sat her up, brushing her short hair out of the way so that he could examine her neck. Sure enough, a pattern of criss-crossed lines encompassed by a circle was visible below her hair. He gently placed his palm over the seal.

"Release!"

When Naruto moved his hand away, the seal had disappeared, but Sakura did not stir. Naruto laid her down again on the ground. Tears filled his blue eyes.

"Come on, Sakura. You're a fighter. You can come back… Please, come back."

Naruto said what Sasuke couldn't. The rogue ninja turned and stared at his former teammate. No, she was his friend. No, more than just that. He…

Damn.

Still couldn't say it.

Panic rose in his chest. Maybe she would never here him say it.

As if on cue, Sakura's chest slowly rose and fell. She coughed a few times and slowly opened her eyes. Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes was white, a blinding whiteness. She panicked for a second, but then her vision slowly returned. Shapes formed and colors grew from white to green and blue and grey. Deep grey, like a thunderstorm. Eyes, gazing back at her. Eyes she thought she would never see again, eyes she didn't want to see again. But they held her there, captivated her, and wouldn't look away. She could have sworn she saw a flicker of relief flash through them, but it must have been her imagination.

After all, it was Sasuke she was seeing.

"What…?" she tried to talk, but it came out as more of a croak. She coughed again, sat up, and cleared her throat, but her blond teammate interrupted her.

"Sakura!"

She felt arms encircle her, nearly tackling her back to the ground.

"Naruto? What… how am I alive? Where's Itachi? What is… he doing here?" she shot off all the important questions.

Sasuke inwardly winced. She didn't even want to say his name.

"I don't know," Naruto pulled back, "To all three questions," he added.

"You removed the seal?"

The blond shinobi nodded. They both looked to Sasuke.

"Get out of here before I decide to kill you," Sasuke said coldly. He pushed up the hilt of his sword ever so slightly, exposing the sharpened blade.

"No," said Naruto, before Sakura had a chance to say anything, "We're not leaving without you this time. I don't care how dangerous you are; whether you like it or not, I'm still your friend."

Sakura didn't say anything. They both stood up, and all three ninja faced each other.

She couldn't help but wonder where it had all gone wrong, so terribly wrong. They should be friends, going on missions, talking, laughing— it shouldn't be like this. Fate must have some inexplicable reason for hating them; they must have done something wrong along the way. She didn't know what, but she did know that she would give almost anything to be able to fix it, to make everything like how it used to be. How did it come to this?

'_How the heck did this happen?'_

It was a question she didn't think that she'd ever know the answer to.

"Shouldn't you be off chasing your brother?" Sakura asked Sasuke emotionlessly.

"He's still here," Sasuke replied, with a tone matching hers.

Her eyes widened slightly. Why would he stay behind? Was he planning to catch them unaware?

Well, Sasuke obviously wasn't letting his guard down, at least.

"Where?" Naruto asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

"I will fight him alone. I thought I told you to get out of here."

"And I thought I told you that we're not leaving without you!"

"Both of you shut up!" Sakura said in a loud whisper. For a moment, it felt nostalgic, like she was intervening in one of their usual arguments for the twentieth time that day.

Ironically, they both did, and they all stood silently, not knowing what to expect.

"Let's go, Naruto," Sakura finally said.

He gave her a look of astonishment, "You want to leave him again?!"

"I'm more concerned with the both of us staying alive. I almost died once today, I'm not going to push it," she went on as if Sasuke couldn't hear, "He can take care of himself. Maybe he'll actually kill Itachi; this whole thing would be a hell of a lot easier for us."

"Sakura…" Naruto said in disbelief.

"He doesn't care, Naruto. Love is just a weakness to him. And if that's what he thinks," she gave Sasuke a piercing stare, "Then I don't care about him anymore."

Sasuke stared back, hiding the pain that threatened him more than any flesh wound could have.

"I can't allow any of you to leave."

The three of them froze instantly upon hearing Itachi's voice. They couldn't find the source of the sound; it was as if there was a dome around them, and the sound echoed throughout the space. Suddenly everything around them grew dark, pitch black. It was enough to make the most hardened shinobi even a little frightened.

"What's this?" Sakura heard Naruto ask from somewhere next to her.

"Genjutsu," she replied without hesitation. "Probably sharingan induced."

Sasuke mumbled something under his breath. Sakura immediately turned her head in his direction, but she couldn't see anything in the impenetrable blackness. She tried releasing the genjutsu, but to no avail. They either needed someone on the outside to do it, or kill Itachi. Although the latter sounded all too appealing at the moment, it was nearly impossible in total darkness, not to mention with Sasuke and his little vendetta.

"Naruto, are you there?" she asked.

"I'm—" His reply was abruptly cut off.

"Naruto?" she repeated, more urgently this time.

No answer.

"Sasuke?" she tried as a last resort.

Again, no answer.

Suddenly, she felt a white hot pain searing across her back. She cried out from the pain, only to find that she couldn't hear herself scream. Another slash cut across her back, perpendicular to the last. She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"You will die here."

The surrounding voice spoke again with such authority, that she believed that he was right. She couldn't take much more of the pain.

Another slash, across her stomach this time.

A stab, to her shoulder.

A tantalizingly slow gash to her cheek.

She couldn't see. She couldn't hear.

No one was there to help her.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

"Tsukuyomi," Sasuke whispered to himself.

Everything around them was black, lifeless. He couldn't see anything or anyone. That was one of the effects of the jutsu: deprive your opponent of their senses.

Then, out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time, came the all-knowing voice.

"You will kill her."

Kill who?

"You love her, don't you?" the voice came again.

Oh, god no.

He tried to protest, but found that he couldn't speak. Although he couldn't see it, he felt his hand go to his sword and slowly draw it out, as if by a will of its own. His other hand grasped the hilt and held it out in front of him.

Then, as if someone had suddenly shined a spotlight on her, he saw Sakura in front of him. Her back was to him, his sword centimeters away from piercing her.

"Sasuke?" she called his name.

A chill ran through his body. He would never hurt her, no way. He tried to reply, to warn her of what he was about to do, but again, to no avail. She couldn't hear him.

'_I won't hurt her.'_

"Yes, you will." Itachi responded, appearing suddenly next to Sasuke.

'_No.'_

Itachi extended his arms out in front of him, mimicking Sasuke's stance. He brought his arms high over his head, making Sasuke do the same. It was somewhat like shadow possession, but without the shadow. This was Itachi's world; he could do whatever he wanted.

"I thought I told you before, little brother. The path to power can only be taken alone. Perhaps you will realize it now."

He brought the katana down and slashed her across her back. She screamed in agony but remained frozen in place. He tried to resist the jutsu, but Itachi was in complete control. Even with his sharingan, he couldn't reverse the jutsu. He didn't have Mangekyo.

He did it again, across the last slash. Little rivulets of blood trailed out of the gashes.

He walked stiffly around her, trying to fight the jutsu, trying everything and anything he could think of. He brought the katana across her stomach. She didn't scream or cry again after the first time, but retreated into a zoned-out state.

The process repeated.

Again

And again

And again.

Eventually, there were long, red cuts crisscrossing her body. Sasuke stared at her. This was worse than death; what he wouldn't give to die. He saw all the pain he had caused and shook with horror. Her dull green eyes stared back at him, but didn't see him. Itachi released his hold on his younger brother, and Sasuke slumped to the ground.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

She was numb.

After the first few slashes, she became oblivious to the pain. There was only darkness.

She caught glimpses of her attacker, but she didn't know who it was. It was Itachi probably.

It might have been Sasuke, but she couldn't tell. She couldn't think.

There was only darkness.

**FLASHBACK**

It was a beautiful night.

They lay on the grass, sleeping until they had to return home the next day. But it was nearly impossible to sleep, for her at least. She tilted her head back to see behind her. Kakashi-sensei had his back turned toward her, apparently sleeping. Naruto was sprawled out next to her, snoring softly.

Sasuke sat a few feet away, keeping watch, occasionally throwing a few sticks on the fire, so that they didn't have to start it again in the morning.

She had been trying to keep her gaze off of him because he would look back at them every now and then to take in all of his surroundings. She fantasized that he was checking on her, making sure that she slept. It wasn't true of course, but she was entitled to dreams. But she couldn't sleep, and there was no reason for both of them to be exhausted in the morning.

She sat up silently and crawled over to sit next to him. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but he didn't push her away either. She took this as a good sign.

"I can keep watch now, if you want," she whispered, tucking a strand of long pink hair behind her ear.

"You should be asleep," he replied. "We don't want to be slowed down tomorrow."

He was right. She would be tired. She thought about going back to bed, but she remained determined.

"You need to sleep, too," she said gently. "Just for a few hours at least. I'll wake you up."

He seemed to be thinking about it for a moment then tilted his head back to the sky. She saw the stars reflected in his eyes. After a moment, she looked too. Tiny pinpricks of light littered the sky. No matter where she looked, they were everywhere. It wasn't like this in Konoha. Out here, there were billions of them.

"What do you think?"

Sakura suddenly looked back to Sasuke, who was now observing her. He seemed to be curious about her answer. She was glad that the night hid her blush.

"They're beautiful," she replied.

Sasuke turned his gaze away from her, seemingly finding her response to be boring.

"They have nothing to worry about," she continued, looking back at the sky, "They see everything and everyone. They can observe the world and not be involved in its problems. I envy them."

After a pause, Sasuke agreed, "Yeah."

He got up and walked a few steps away and lay down again.

"Wake me up in three hours," he commanded.

"Right, sure," she replied, amazed that he was letting her take the watch. "Goodnight, Sasuke."

"…Goodnight."

She smiled and vigilantly kept watch for the next three hours, glancing back every now and then to make sure he was asleep.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Do you understand now?" Itachi questioned his brother.

"It doesn't matter. I can never go back. I'm going to kill you… and my quest for power will end."

"Maybe so. And you will live a life of solitude, Sasuke. A miserable, lonely life."

No matter what he did, his hands wouldn't stop shaking. His katana lay next to him, covered in blood. But it wasn't real, none of it was. It was all genjutsu, an illusion. So why was he shaking? He knew; he just wouldn't accept it. He could feel it.

The pain was real.

He looked up at her face. It was as if she was frozen in time, unmoving, unseeing. But her eyes were directed solely at him. What he wouldn't do right now to take away the pain. He would do anything, everything.

A presence loomed over him. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to see Itachi standing behind him, his own sword in hand. He looked down in disgust at his younger brother. Sasuke looked back to the bloody katana.

"I will not kill her," he repeated with finality.

"No, you won't. I was only just able to control you before. Now that you know my intent is to kill, I don't think that I can remain in control," Itachi stated, "I will kill her."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the jutsu dissipated and everything became blindingly white. In that split second, Sasuke reached for his sword, and while standing up, thrust it backwards and upwards. He felt it meet the resistance of flesh and knew that he had hit his mark.

Then, shock and pain collided with his senses.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Pain. Death. Black.

Her brain could only comprehend so much at once, and at the moment, she was mostly occupied by those three things. One of them changed.

.

White. Brilliant white. Then, slowly, color.

.

She felt the ground beneath her feet.

She was standing in the grass; she hadn't moved at all since she was trapped in the genjutsu.

Everything was blurry; she felt like maybe she would pass out.

There was rapid movement in front of her, but she couldn't tell exactly what had happened. Then she heard an awful squelching sound. That sound she knew.

In an almost overwhelming rush, everything came back to her. Her senses broke through the hazy cloud. And again, the first thing she saw was those eyes. Deep, gray, desolate. But they were different this time, wide with shock and… relief?

She still felt numb, like she hadn't moved for hours, but she did not collapse. Again, those eyes held her, kept her standing. She wanted to fall asleep and stay that way for days on end; she was so tired. But she didn't. She later wondered how long they had stood there, simply staring, not being able to move. Whether it was for emotional reasons or physical ones, she would never admit to herself.

Suddenly, Sasuke grimaced and gasped in pain. She heard the horrible squelching sound again. But she couldn't move; her body was still in shock. Something moved behind him and fell to the ground in a heap. Finally, she moved her head to look at the figure on the ground.

It was Itachi. Sasuke's katana pierced through him at an upward angle. His eyes were closed, and a lifeless smile was on his face. She looked back to the other Uchiha.

"Sasuke?" she managed to get out before he stumbled on her.

They both half kneeled, half fell to the ground, with Sakura trying to hold onto Sasuke as best she could. She found the reason for his pain. Itachi's katana had entered through the middle of his lower torso, going all the way through. Sakura could only see the tip of the sword, maybe an inch or so, from the front, for it hadn't hit her, but it was through and through none the less.

"Oh god," she whispered, laying him on the ground on his side.

She quickly looked around for anyone. Naruto was lying close to the shack where she had been prisoner, out cold. She called his name twice, but got no return response.

"I'm dead," Sasuke said. It wasn't a question, or a complaint, simply a statement.

She looked down at him. His eyes were half open, his skin pale. He was dying.

"No, you're not," she replied, but didn't sound nearly as believable as she'd hoped.

"Ha," he mock laughed. "So now you care if I die?"

"I didn't say I wanted you to die; I said you didn't care… Now I see that I was wrong about that."

She didn't know if she was right, but she had to keep him talking. Maybe if she kept him alive long enough, help would arrive.

"Why did you save me?" she asked.

"I didn't," he replied weakly, "I killed Itachi."

"No," she shook her head, "you could have gone behind him. You had time. But then he would have had a clear shot at me. I would be where you are now. So why?"

Sasuke didn't reply; his eyelids drifted lower.

"Answer me, Sasuke!"

They flicked half open again. He took a deep, shuddering breath. What the hell. He was going to be dead soon, might as well say something now.

"Yeah, you were wrong about me," he admitted. "I do… care."

Sakura sighed and tears started down her face, "Then why didn't you stay?" she cried, "You left us!"

"Because you weren't the only people I ever cared about," he explained quietly, "My family was murdered; they were the only people… I loved. I needed to avenge them. It was all I ever thought about… until you and Naruto and Kakashi came along. Then, I had people again."

Sakura had her hand around the sword, trying to stop the blood. But she was a medic; she knew. He had massive internal injuries. She was amazed that he was still hanging on. It was only a matter of time.

"I hated you in the beginning," he continued, "I thought you were so annoying. After I woke up on the bridge, I saw you crying. You were crying for me. Naruto was my friend… Kakashi, my teacher… but you… You just loved me, no questions asked… No matter what I did, you didn't care. I didn't know… why. I only figured out how lucky I was when you tried to stop me from leaving. So I thanked you…"

"Sakura!"

She snapped her head up to see Kakashi and Rin emerge from the trees. They quickly ran towards her.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said with dread. Rin looked at him.

"He's gone," she said.

"What? No! No, he's not! Sasuke!" Sakura cried.

"Hn," came the barely perceptible reply.

"He's still there," Sakura pleaded, "We have to do something!"

Kakashi glanced at Rin, "Can you--?"

"I can try," was her immediate answer.

She knelt down on Sasuke's other side, where the hilt and most of the katana protruded. She grasped the hilt and concentrated. _'I'll either kill him or save him. I haven't done this before. To save someone this close to the brink of death…'_ But then another thought pushed its way forward from the back of her mind.

'_Don't let what happened to you happen to her.'_

She focused her chakra into the sword, sending healing energy through it and into him. Slowly she pulled, healing the torn flesh and organs as the sword was removed. It was working. Sasuke grunted in pain and clenched his teeth; Sakura laid a comforting hand on his cheek, hoping to somehow lessen the pain. Whatever the reason, it seemed to help.

"You can't pass out, understand?" she said to him, "You've lost a lot of blood…" She realized just how much when she saw that her hands and his shirt were covered in it.

Kakashi, seeing that he was of no use in the current situation, went over to Naruto. He made a general assessment and determined that Naruto was relatively unharmed, at least physically. He looked over towards Itachi's body. What had he done to them? He, for one, was determined to uncover the mystery of Itachi Uchiha, but that would have to wait. He turned back to Naruto and shook him a few times, and the kyubi container opened his eyes.

"Ow," was the first thing he said, and then immediately after, "Where's Sakura?"

Kakashi allowed himself a brief smile. Like a good big brother, the first thing he wanted to know was if his sister was okay.

"She's fine. Well, physically fine, at least. Sasuke, on the other hand…"

"What?" Naruto sat up slowly and caught sight of Sasuke and Sakura on the ground. There was so much blood. "Sasuke! Sakura!"

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura looked at him at the sound of his voice.

"I'm fine," he got up quickly and stumbled, nearly collapsing again. Kakashi grabbed his arm, but Naruto kept going, kneeling down again at his friends' sides.

"Idiot," Sasuke managed to say.

"Shut up," Naruto retorted weakly, seeing the condition his friend was in.

Rin removed the rest of the blade and tossed it on the ground; she closed him up, leaving where there once was a seemingly irreparable wound nothing but undamaged skin. But he lost a lot of blood. If they had any hope of keeping him alive, they needed to get to the hospital. She stood up. Where she had been kneeling there was now a patch of dry grass; she had unknowingly absorbed its chakra while she was working. But she didn't feel guilty; new life would return.

"We need to go, now," she reported.

Sasuke still looked about ready to pass out. Sakura silently agreed. She tried to stand but found she couldn't. Without a word, Naruto lifted her from the ground.

"Don't argue," he said before she could protest, "We don't have time."

Kakashi picked up Sasuke carefully. He nodded toward Rin and they set back off for the Leaf Village.

Home.

Sakura closed her eyes. Her body ached from all of the pain the genjutsu had caused her. She couldn't believe that they were finally bringing Sasuke home. Just a while ago she hadn't even cared. But he had been hiding everything from her the whole time. She planned to give him a lot of crap about that, but for now, she was too exhausted.

Still, some of the things that he had said kept running through her mind.

'_I had people again.'_

'_You just loved me, no questions asked.'_

"_I figured out how lucky I was.'_

She wondered if it was really just dumb luck that brought them together. She thought that she'd like to believe it was fate, that they were meant for each other. That someone, a long time ago, had predicted that they were destined to be together, and that their love would pull through and save them in the end.

She smiled.

No, probably just dumb luck.

She had never been one to believe in destiny anyway.

She fell asleep, and for the first time in a long time, she dreamed about a long, happy future.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

When you love someone, you open yourself up to suffering; that's the sad truth. Maybe they'll break your heart, or maybe you'll break their heart and never be able to look at yourself the in the same way. Those are the risks. That's the burden.

Like wings, they have weight, we feel that weight on our backs, but they are a burden that lifts us. A burden which allows us to fly.

--The End in the Beginning 4/24

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our conflict. It does not, however, conclude our story. ****Yeah, I'm going English class on you. Point being, there is one chapter left. Kind of an epilogue****type thing where I talk more about the relationship stuff and where people's lives go from here. ****Also I got to mention that this is like the longest chapter I have ever written. 4565 words, hell ****yeah! Hopefully I did you justice. Tell me what you think! **


	28. Starlight

**O.M.G.**

**The last chapter. It's official… I'm lazy. Sorry it took so long. But to be fair, I had exams. Craming plus test taking plus major stress equals no time or inspiration for writing. But now… tada! I'm back.**

**Just wanna say thanks to all of you who kept reading and wanting more and especially withstanding my incredibly slow updates. And now it's summer when I should be getting them up faster. Go figure. Anyways, you guys are awesome, and I hope you keep reading my stuff. I should have my first chapter to the naruto/hp xover pretty soon, if anybody's interested. There will be lots of Kakashi, cuz he's awesome. ^__^ **

**Btw, could you possibly bump me up to 300 reviews? It's a challenge, for sure, but I know you can do it. =]**

**And so, our journey comes to an end…**

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Chapter 28: Starlight

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

Three years later…

"Hey, guys! Calm down! Can't we just take it easy?"

Sakura was getting frustrated. They didn't have to run at the speed of light to get back in time; they would be there by nightfall. After a long mission, she just wanted to take her time getting back home.

"Oh, c'mon Sakura! This is fun!"

Of course, you really couldn't tell Naruto to calm down.

She looked to Sasuke, who was running alongside her, "Is this fun?" she asked him.

"Not really," he replied.

"See? It's not fun!" she yelled back to Naruto and Kakashi, ten feet ahead of her.

There appeared to be some conversation between Naruto and Kakashi, Naruto was complaining, but then they slowed down to a brisk walk and were shortly joined by Sakura and Sasuke.

"Thank you," she said.

"Why do you?—" Naruto started.

"Because everybody's tired accept you, Naruto. You have to remember that not everyone has as much chakra as you," she interrupted his question. She guessed that Sasuke wasn't tired in the least, but if it would help her argument, then so be it.

"You sound like Granny Tsunade," he muttered.

She punched him in the arm, earning an "Ow!" for her efforts. She actually chose to take his statement as a complement, but he meant it as an insult, so he deserved a punch. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Kakashi chuckled.

"You know Naruto, Tsunade is usually right. Are you saying that Sakura is right, too?" the jonin commented.

"That's not what I… never mind," he gave up.

Sakura heard Sasuke mutter, "Idiot," under his breath. She grinned to herself.

Kakashi often told them how much they still acted like kids despite their age. It had been what, almost six years now since they had become squad seven, and still the arguments and conversations remained much the same. She wondered if it was because they had only spent four of those six years together. While everyone else was learning and growing up as a squad, they spent much of that time separated. They still had a lot of growing to do as a team.

It was almost three years to the day since they had taken Sasuke back to Konoha. She remembered how it had been touch and go for awhile, but he pulled through his injuries and made a full recovery. She had generally gone to check on him in the hospital every day, if only for a few minutes. She filled him in on anything and everything she could think of that had happened while he was… away.

Tsunade had not been as eager to simply accept Sasuke back into the community, however.

FLASHBACK

"Alright, bring him in," the hokage said from her office.

Slowly the double doors opened, and in walked team Kakashi. They lined up in front of her desk, from left to right, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi. For a moment, she stood and continued to look out through her window at the clear blue sky, and then turned to face her visitors. She took in Naruto's and Sakura's determined faces and Sasuke's distant one, his gaze directed to where hers had been a moment before. Kakashi was doing as she was, quietly observing, knowing that anything he said would not make a difference in this matter.

"So," she started, "We all know why we're here?"

"You can't make Sasuke go to prison, Granny," Naruto protested before anyone had a chance to say anything. Sakura quickly shot him a look that clearly said 'shut up'.

"I don't see any reason why I shouldn't," she replied, feeling a little remorse after seeing her apprentice's pale look. But it had to be done. "He broke the law, betrayed his country to gain power."

"He did it to protect himself, to protect us!" Sakura argued, "He saved my life!"

"I will accept any punishment that you chose, Lady Hokage."

Everyone's heads swiveled to look at Sasuke. He switched his gaze from the scenery to Tsunade's intense expression, his eyes just as serious.

"How can you--?" Sakura began to ask.

"Maybe I did save your life, Sakura. But I'm also the one who screwed it up in the first place. I caused you all pain that you shouldn't have had to feel; I abandoned my friends and my home. For that, I should be punished," he explained, "And if that means going to prison… so be it."

Tsunade considered his words carefully. He seemed to have given this a lot of thought and was truly remorseful of his actions, but so much so that he would agree to be locked up for most of his life? It was doubtable. Naruto and Sakura now looked equally nervous. But there was also a mixture of relief and pride on their faces. It was clear to them that he was trying to do the right thing.

Maybe she should have more faith in them. If Sakura and Naruto thought that he could turn around, maybe she should as well. If he were sent to prison, it was more than likely that he could just escape anyway, even if they put him in their highest security facility. But if he thought that he deserved it, then he wouldn't try to escape. And his considerable talent would be lost to a life of imprisonment. Alright, so he didn't go to jail. There would still have to be consequences until she thought that she could completely trust him.

"Very well," she finally said, sitting in her chair and folding her hands on her desk. "You will have four months suspension during which there will be an ANBU black ops agent with you at all times unless you are accompanied by your team. You will not leave the village for any reason unless there is an emergency. And you will help with various projects in the community. After your four months are up, everything will go back to normal, and you will resume your duties as a shinobi, but you are still not allowed to leave the village without my authorization. Am I understood?"

Sasuke's expression flickered surprise at her words, but he had soon regained his composure, "Yes, ma'am."

"Very well, you are all dismissed," she gave Kakashi a look on the way out as if to say, keep an eye on him, and he nodded. Just as they were all filing out she said, "Sasuke," he turned and looked back. She gave him the most meaningful stare she could, "Don't disappoint me."

"I won't," he said with finality.

They all left the room, Naruto and Sakura unable to hide the grins on their faces.

END FLASHBACK

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice brought her out of her reverie, "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking… I can't believe it's been three years already."

He nodded, "Yeah." Master of the one word response.

"Time flies when you're havin' fun," Kakashi spouted out randomly.

"Uh-huh," Sakura quirked an eyebrow at him, "Sure. I think the whole dad thing is getting to your head."

"Well, it's been a year."

"Are you sure we're not gonna miss the party, Sakura?" the resident blonde ninja asked.

"Yes, Naruto, I'm sure."

"Okay, good. I'm really looking forward to that cake."

Kakashi elbowed him in the arm, "You're just going so that you can eat cake?"

"Ow! Well, of course, I want to see the little guy, too, but you know…" he rubbed his arm, "That kid's hyper. And he's damn fast."

Kakashi grinned and exchanged looks with the other two, "That he is."

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

The gates loomed ahead of them. They were actually a little early; the sun was just beginning to set. Sakura stole a quick glance behind her at the orange circle slowly descending below the horizon. It was a sight that she never tired of.

"I'll race you, Sasuke," Naruto challengened as soon as the walls around Konoha came into view.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Does everything have to be a competition with you?"

"Chicken."

"Idiot."

Naruto made clucking sounds and danced around in his imitation of a chicken. Sakura giggled, and Sasuke sighed.

"Fine." They looked to Sakura to count down.

"Three, two, one, go," she said quickly.

They shot off at ridiculous speeds, using probably more chakra than they should to increase their acceleration. Sakura shook her head as she watched them tear down the road.

"What are we going to do with them?" she asked, half to herself.

"Whatever we're doing now seems to be working," came the answer.

"I suppose."

She glanced at Kakashi and found him smiling at the sight of the two boys. No matter how many times she told herself that they were equals now, she couldn't help but still think of him as her sensei. Sasuke was the first of the team to become a jonin, shortly followed by her, and finally Naruto, who was only slowed because he had to take both the chunnin and jonin exams. Technically, they were all of the same rank now, but in terms of experience, Kakashi was still the leader by far.

"Something wrong, Sakura?" he asked, "You seem distant today."

"Just a lot on my mind, I guess," she replied, brushing off his concern.

"Such as?" he continued, ignoring her lame attempt to drop the subject.

She sighed. There was no getting out of this one. "I think Sasuke's going to join the ANBU."

"Yeah, he talked to me about that."

"Really?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Yeah. He had a lot of questions."

"What did he ask?"

"Wanted to know how long typical missions were, how many assassinations he'd have to do, how long he would be away from home, stuff like that."

"And you told him…"

"That it depends. Sometimes the mission only lasts for a couple hours, or it could be a couple months," he glanced at her, "The point is, he's not going to do it."

"Why wouldn't he? It's definitely something he'd do. It's what he does, and he's damn good at it," she rambled.

"Because," Kakashi interrupted her before she could continue with her list of reasons, "he doesn't want to be away from you that long."

She was stunned speechless for a second, then let out a strangled, "Ha."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her reaction, "What? Is that so unthinkable?"

"He cares about me, yes. Likes me, even. But saying that he can't live without seeing me? That's ridiculous. He's too independent; always has been. It's not like he—"

"Loves you?" Kakashi finished, "Yeah, I think he does. He just can't say it."

"Oh really," Sakura made a face at him, "And what makes you so sure?"

He smiled briefly, "I had the same problem."

"…Alright, I'll give you that one. But still, you can't know—"

"Why don't you want to believe it? You've been wanting to hear what I just told you since you were, what, twelve?" he asked.

"Probably closer to eleven," she joked, but her heart wasn't in it. She sighed, "I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

"...Are you just going to keep bugging me until I tell you?"

"It's for your own good."

"Fine. I…I'm afraid I'm going to run," she admitted.

"Ah, I see," he said.

She scoffed, "You're ridiculous. Thanks for your wise input."

"Why would you run?"

"Because I'd be getting myself into something I can't back out of. I don't know, really. It just seems like everything is going right lately, and I don't want that to change," she tried to explain.

"Makes sense to me. But if you don't figure it out, you will regret it."

She sighed again, "Yeah, I know. I will figure it out, somehow… Thanks," she told him sincerely.

"Anytime."

"You know you sound like a girl when you give advice like that," she told him smugly.

"What can I say, the whole married thing must be getting to my head," he replied, repeating her words from earlier with a grin.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

The sun was a sliver on the horizon when they reached their destination. They strolled up to one of the training fields where two small rows of tables were set and lights were strung to give the atmosphere a warm glow. Friends and family gathered around the tables or sat on the soft grass, talking and eating.

"Obito!" a woman's voice shouted.

Said little boy ran wobbly towards them shouting, "Dada!" as he went. Kakashi crouched down and held his arms out for him, lifting him into a hug as the child giggled with happiness.

"Hey, buddy," Kakashi greeted his son. "Where's momma?"

Obito looked back the way he had come in response. Kakashi found Rin in the crowd of people, watching them make their way over. She smiled and waved them over when she caught sight of them.

"You guys hungry?" Kakashi asked, at which Naruto got a "duh" look on his face, "Right, stupid question," he amended. Sakura rolled her eyes.

They entered the crowd, talking and greeting as they went. Sakura and Rin spent a good amount of time planning the party; officially it was Obito's birthday, but unofficially, it was an excuse to get everyone together.

"Hey, I was wondering about you guys," Rin said when they finally made their way over to her, "We were just about to have cake."

"Told ya we'd be here in time," Sakura told Naruto.

He nodded, his mouth full of food, "Tank oodess or at."

She made a face at him while Obito giggled, "Don't talk with your mouth full; you're setting a bad example." Obito puffed out his cheeks and blew them out, pretending to be Naruto.

Sakura chuckled, "You just want to make everyone laugh, don't you?" she ruffled his messy dark brown hair, "How old are you?"

"One," he replied holding out five fingers.

"One," Sakura repeated, holding out her pointer finger. Obito mimicked the action. "There you go."

"Sakura!"

She turned around and saw Akari run to her happily. She smiled and hugged the now seven year old. Akari was all smiles, usually shy and polite. She was doing wonderfully in the academy, and her teachers expected her to graduate at least a year ahead of her classmates. She was very proud of her schoolwork and was very intelligent.

They talked and laughed some more, and soon Rin brought out the cake. She set it down on one of the tables, and Kakashi carried Obito over and stood him on the bench in front of it, holding him there so that he wouldn't fall over. Everybody gathered around to watch.

"Okay Obito, you have to—" Kakashi didn't even finish his sentence before the one year old blew out the lone candle on his cake, probably using a little more force than necessary. People laughed and clapped, and the cake was cut and passed around.

Sakura ate her piece quietly and observed the people around her. Naruto and Akari both had good size pieces of cake and seemed to be beginning a race to see who could eat theirs fastest. Normally, Sakura wouldn't have approved and would have told them so, but she decided to let it go. She did wonder how Akari had picked up on Naruto's eating habits, however. She'd have to make sure it wasn't a pattern.

She saw many of her other friends having a good time. Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were talking amongst themselves. Gai and Lee were having a push up contest that could probably go on for days before either of them admitted defeat while Neji looked on with disinterest. Kiba was playing with Akamaru while Choji and Shino watched, apparently having their own conversation. What they were talking about, though, she couldn't imagine.

Rin sat with Obito in her lap, and Kakashi sat next to them. Obito's sky blue eyes never left the plate of cake in his father's hand. Experimentally, Kakashi moved the plate to the left and then the right. Obito followed it and reached out his hand in case it was being taken away from him. Rin rolled her eyes and Kakashi consented, giving his son another bite of cake. It wasn't long before the little boy had frosting all around his mouth and was starting to get sleepy. He dosed off in his mother's arms. His parents smiled tiredly at each other and then at their son.

Sakura watched all these exchanges and soon realized something was missing.

Where was—

"Sakura."

She turned around to see Sasuke standing behind her in the shadow of a tree. He quietly motioned her over when he got her attention.

"What?" she asked when she got to him, deciding to play along with whatever he was doing.

"Follow me," he said quietly, walking off into the forest.

'_Suspicious.'_ She thought. '_Very suspicious.'_

But she followed anyway. They crept through the trees, and soon the lights from the party were out of sight. It was nearly pitch black, and Sakura soon thought she would have to rely on her shinobi skills to guide her through the dark.

"Sasuke?" she asked the darkness tentatively.

"I'm right here," he said from somewhere in front of her.

A hand encompassed her own, and she fought off a shiver that had nothing to do with the night. She didn't realize she'd stopped moving until he gently tugged on her hand again, urging her forward. They walked for a few more minutes until they entered a clearing.

Her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and she realized that they were at the memorial.

"Why are we here?" she asked, turning to his outline in the dark.

He looked around and turned back to her. He sat down and pulled her down with him, making her realize that they were still holding hands. She sat next to him, impatiently waiting for a reply.

"Look up," he whispered.

After a last look at his features and hopelessly trying to decide what he was thinking, she complied. The star-packed sky met her gaze, and she gasped at the vastness of it. Nearly everywhere she looked a bright dot blazed, almost as if someone had sprinkled diamonds throughout the night sky. Suddenly, it wasn't so dark anymore.

"It's amazing," she finally said.

He nodded slightly in silent agreement.

Since her conversation with Kakashi earlier, she had tried to put the whole Sasuke-loves-you thing in the back of her mind, preferring to mull over it at a more appropriate time. But now that she was out of all the commotion, it wiggled its way into her conscious thought. She glanced at him nervously. Who knew when she would get him alone again? She needed to know; there was no way around it. What was the worst that could happen?

Ha. She didn't even want to think about it.

"Sasuke?" she sort of blurted out. Not quite the way she intended.

"Hm?"

"I have to ask you something."

He looked suspiciously at her, "…Okay."

Moment of truth.

"Well…do you…ah…" she sighed. Okay, attempt failed. Time to collect her loses and retreat.

"Yes."

Hold the phone. She was silent before finally getting out, "What?"

"I said, yes."

"But you don't know what I was going to ask."

"I think I do."

Silence. She looked into his eyes, tried to read his emotions, but as usual, they were unreadable.

Finally he said, "Yes, I love you."

Her world turned upside down at the implications of those words.

"Are you sure?" she asked, keeping his gaze.

"Yeah."

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"Yes."

"Because I don't know if I can handle this," she continued.

"And you think I can?" he asked.

"But you want to go for it anyway?"

He nodded slowly.

The realization sunk in, and she flung her arms around him. He held her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, breathing him in. She finally pulled away, keeping her arms loosely around his shoulders.

"You know, I think I love you too," she told him, smiling.

He leaned in and kissed her, witnessed only by the stars above them in the night sky.

0---o---0---o---0---o---0---o---0

**Hope you enjoyed.**


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